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The Blacksmith's Guide 



VALUABLE INSTRUCTIONS ON FORGING, 

WELDING, HARDENING, TEMPERING, 

CASEHARDENING, ANNEALING, 

COLORING, BRAZING, AND 

GENERAL BLACKSMITHING 



Bv J. F. SALLOWS 



FIRST EDITIOS 



THE TECHNICAL PRESS 

BRATTLEBORO, VT. 

1907 



*Y of CONGRESS ■ 
i wo Cooies Reaeivecf 

OCT 14 »90» v 

ConyDfiflit Entiy 

CUSS A *Xc„ No. 

copy 6 



Copyright, 1907 

BY 

J. F. Sallows 



• • • 

• • • 

• •• 



E. L. HlLDRETH & CO. 

PRINTERS 

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. 



7- s. ^f 78* 






DEDICATION 



to my young son 
Frank Hamilton Sallows 

fourth in descent 

in a family of blacksmiths 

may he become first 

in manliness and skill 



INTRODUCTION. 

In offering this book to my fellow craftsmen, I do 
not wish it to be inferred that I consider myself the 
only one who knows how to do the work described in 
its pages. In 27 years' experience at blacksmithing, 
however, working in nearly all kinds of shops, includ- 
ing horseshoeing, marine, railroad, printing press, saw- 
mill machinery and automobile shops, I have had op- 
portunities seldom obtained by the average smith. I 
therefore hope that the book will not only help the 
young men in the trade, but some of the older black- 
smiths as well ; and since much attention has been 
given to the subjects of hardening, tempering, case- 
hardening, coloring, etc., I believe it will also prove 
useful to machinists and toolmakers. Part of the mat- 
ter upon these latter subjects was contributed, in some- 
what different form, to the columns of Machinery, 
but most of the material is here used for the first time. 

Everything in these pages is from actual experience 
and I am ready at all times to answer any question on 
any subject that is not fully understood by the reader; 
but I have, tried to make everything so plain that the 
average blacksmith can readily understand the methods 
explained. 

The man who gives the best satisfaction is the one 
to get the highest wages and I am confident that one 
who follows the directions in this book will give satis- 
faction. The methods described show how to become 
a rapid and an independent workman, which is the 
kind employers are looking for, although this kind 



vi. INTRODUCTION 

seems hard to find at the present time, especially 
among the younger blacksmiths. 

Fourteen years of my blacksmithing experience have 
been spent as foreman and during this time I have 
observed that blacksmiths in general have but a small 
chance to learn anything more than they can dig up in 
their own daily toil. A young man from the farm can 
go into a machine shop, start in by running a drill 
press, then a lathe, and by reading and strict attention 
to business he will soon become a fairly good machin- 
ist. It is not so with a blacksmith, and especially 
a machine blacksmith, who usually has difficulty in 
acquiring full knowledge of his trade. Something 
should be done to assist the young men who are will- 
ing to learn the trade most difficult to learn — that of 
blacksmithing. 

" For since the birth of time, throughout all ages and nations, 
Has the craft of the smith been held in repute by the people." 

[Longfellow.] 

J. F. Sallows. 

Lansing, Mich., July, ipof. 



CONTENTS. 

Chapter I. Machine Forging 1 

Reading Drawings — Instructions Should be Clear — Ar- 
ranging Forges in a Shop — The Anvil Block — Cutting Off 
Steel — Heating and Forging — Tongs — Heading Tool — 
Bending Fork — Bevel Set — Bolts for Planer — Key Puller 
— Open End Wrench — Socket Wrench — Spanner Wrench 
— Turnbuckle or Swivel — Crankshaft — Making a Square 
Corner in Heavy Stock — Making a Double Angle — Direc- 
tions for Welding — Scarf Weld — Two Heats to Make a 
Weld— Butt Weld— Lap Weld— Cleft Weld— Jump Weld- 
ing — Welding a Ring — Welding Solid Ends in Pipe— The 
Use of "Dutchmen." 

Chapter II. Tool Forging 40 

Systematic Arrangement of Work — Care in Heating — 
Patterns — Bevel Set — Cold Chisels — Cape Chisels, Groov- 
ing Chisels, Etc. — Screw Driver — Tools from Files — Cut- 
ting-off Tool — Side Tools — Boring Tool — Threading 
Tools — Roughing Tool — Finishing Tools — Centering 
Tools — Diamond Point — Round Nose Tool — Brass Turn- 
ing Tool— Rock Drill— To Make Tool Steel Rings or 
Dies Without Welding. 

Chapter III. Hardening and Tempering 66 

Proper and Improper Heating — Drawing the Temper — 
Charcoal Fire — Home-made Oven — Color Charts — Hard- 
ening Cold Chisels — Center Punches — Lathe and Planer 
Tools — Hardening Milling Cutters — Hardening Formed 
Cutters — Hardening a Thin Cutter — The Treatment of 
Reamers — Hardening Taps — Treatment of Punches and 
Dies — Threading Die — Treatment of a Broach — Shear 
Blades — Hardening Large Rolls — Tempering Springs — 
Drill Jig Bushings — Tempering a Hammer Head — Tem- 
pering Fine Steel Points — Shrinkage and Expansion — An- 
nealing — General Directions for Hardening. 



viii. CONTENTS 

Chapter IV. High-Speed Steel 107 

To Distinguish High-Speed Steel — Cutting Off High- 
Speed Steel — Treating Self-Hardening Steel — Forging 
Air-Hardening Steel — Device for Air Hardening — Heat- 
ing for Hardening — Hardening with Cyanide — Hardening 
Milling Cutters and Other Expensive Tools — Hardening 
Long Blades — Annealing High-Speed Steel. 

Chapter V. Casehardening and Coloring 118 

The Furnace — Packing for Casehardening — Directions 
for Casehardening — Tank for Casehardening Work — 
Tools from Machine Steel — Pack Hardening — Pack 
Hardening Long Pieces — Testing Work — Pack Harden- 
ing Thin Cutters — Cyanide Hardening — Mottling and 
Coloring — How to Get the Charred Bone and Leather — 
Coloring with Cyanide — Coloring by Heat Alone. 

Chapter VI. Brazing — General Blacksmithing 134 

Brazing — Brazing Furnace — Spelter — Directions for 
Brazing — Brazing Cast Iron — Brazing a Small Band Saw 
— Bending Gas Pipe — To Straighten Thin Sheet Steel — 
The General Blacksmith and Horse Shoer — Repairing 
Plowshares — Shoeing to Prevent Interfering — Horseshoe 
Vise — Shoeing for Contracted Feet — Advice to Foremen. 

Appendix. 

Table of Decimal Equivalents — Reproductions in Colors 
Showing Coloring of a Hardened Wrench — Colored Heat 
Chart — Colored Temper Chart — Working Drawings of 
a Casehardening Furnace. 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE. 



CHAPTER I. 



MACHINE FORGING. 



Reading Drawings. — Machine forging is the sim- 
plest class of blacksmithing and if the smith under- 
stands drawings he will not find this kind of work 
difficult; but if he does not understand drawings he 
may better devote his time to some other class of 
smithing. The main point to bear in mind is to leave 




Fig. 1. Arrangement of Views in Working Drawings. 

stock for finishing wherever called for. Drawings are 
always marked with the letter f or otherwise where 
required to be finished ; or if a piece is to be machined 
all over, as in Fig. 53, it will be so stated on the 
drawing. 

By using a common square head bolt. Fig. 1, I will 
give an illustration which I think will help the black- 



2 THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 

smith in reading mechanical drawings. The upper 
half of the sketch shows side and end views of the 
bolt, with the end view at the right; while in the 
lower half the end view is at the left. In each case the 
end view represents the bolt as it would appear if 
looked at from the end at which this view is placed. 
Thus, in the upper part of the sketch the end view 
shows the bolt as it would appear if looked at from the 
right-hand end and in the lower part as it would appear 
from the left-hand or head end. 

This will be better understood by supposing the 
sheet to be folded on the dotted line a b in the upper 
half of the sketch, which will bring the end view into 
the correct position to represent the end A of the bolt 
as it would appear if looking directly at that end. 
Again, by folding the sheet on the dotted line c d in 
the lower half of the sketch, the end view will be in 
the correct position to represent the other end B of the 
bolt ; but in this view the head would be the only part 
visible and would completely cover up the shank, so 
the circle x representing the shank should here be 
drawn dotted instead of solid, as in the upper view. 

Throughout this book the illustrations are in the 
form of working drawings so far as practicable, show- 
ing side, end or top views of the pieces, as necessary. 
In each case these different views are correctly placed 
in relation to each other; and by a study of these it 
will be clear why certain lines are dotted in some views 
and solid in others, as in the two end views of the bolt 
just used as an illustration. 

Another thing I want to call to the attention of 
blacksmiths is the dimension of a radius as given on a 



MACHINE FORGING 3 

drawing. Radius means one half the diameter of a 
circle ; but time and again I have seen smiths, when 
getting a job of work such as Fig. 2, where the size 
of a circle is given by "^4-inch R," form the part over 
a 34 -inch rod instead of using a 13^ -inch rod as they 
should. Many smiths do not understand this, but it is 
important, and by observing this it will save the hu- 
miliation of having a piece of work returned to be 
operated on the second time. 



^ 



Fig. 2. 

At the end of the book will be found a table of frac- 
tions with their decimal equivalents which will be use- 
ful in working from drawings. Oftentimes a drawing 
comes to the smith with the dimensions given in deci- 
mals, thus : "2.3125 inch," which is the same as 2% 6 
inches. 

Instructions Should be Clear. — It makes a great 
saving in the time a smith will devote to a job if he is 
informed what it is for. Sometimes he will take great 
pains with work that would answer every purpose if 
made with considerably less care, as would be the case 
with a repair job. I have known foremen to request 
a smith to take as much pains with a forging of this 
character as with one that it was necessary to have 
finished carefully, with the result that twice as much 
time was put upon the job as would have been required 
if the smith had known what it was for. 



4 THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 

For example, in Fig. 3 are two views of a piece bent 
at a right angle. A drawing will come from some de- 
partment looking like No. 2, when if made as in No. 1 
it would be just as good and certainly would be 
stronger. Of course there are cases where a piece of 



No.1 



No.2 



Fig. 3. 



work must be square on the outside corner A, Fig. 3 ; 
but all blacksmiths know the difference in the time con- 
sumed in making the two pieces and for lack of fore- 
thought on the part of the foreman smith there is a 
vast amount of time wasted in just such cases. 

Arranging Forges in a Shop. — It is sometimes the 
custom to arrange forges in a smith shop in a straight 
line along one side near the wall, giving little thought 
to the inconvenience caused the workman by placing 
the forges in a haphazard way ; and the financial loss 
that results from locating the smiths where they work 
at a disadvantage. Fig. 4 shows a simple and at the 
same time a convenient way to arrange the forges in 
a smith shop. They are placed in a semi-circle, which 
gives all the smiths the same chance at the steam and 
trip hammers, located at A and BB respectively. If 
onlv one or two smiths in a shop are allowed to use 



MACHINE FORGING 5 

these hammers, the rest feel slighted and have reason 
to feel so, as there is no smith in a large shop who does 
not have occasion to use the hammers at one time or 
another. By having the fires so arranged, it does away 
with the "dog in the manger" feeling usually displayed 
by the smith whose fire is nearest the hammer. 

The Anvil Block. — It is the custom in a great many 
shops to fasten the anvil to a large wooden block set 
in a big hole dug in the ground. This type of founda- 
tion has the objection that if you want to move the 




Fig. 4. Arrangement of Forges. 



anvil at any time and perhaps later return it to its old 
location it will be found quite a task to do so. Fig. 5 
shows top and side view of a hollow cast-iron anvil 
base that will be found more satisfactory in all respects. 
The sides taper from C to D, as indicated, and there is 
a wide flange B around the bottom. The metal is 
about one inch thick and there are large round holes in 
the sides and top. 



6 THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 

Fig. 6 shows the anvil mounted on the base. A 
hard wood plank A is put between the base and the 
anvil and by having four thin steel straps B, one on 
each side of the anvil bottom, and four 5^-inch hook 





Fig. 5. Anvil Base. 



bolts C, the anvil can be securely bolted to the base 
and the anvil, together with its base, can be readily 



MACHINE FORGING 7 

moved to any part of the shop desired, since the base 
rests directly on the shop floor without any other 
foundation. 

Cutting Off Steel. — Cutting-off tools for cutting off 
round steel on the anvil in the blacksmith shop are 
shown in Fig. T. The bottom cutter is at A, the upper 




Fig. 6. Anvil Mounted on Base. 

or hand cutter at B, and at C is a round bar in position 
to be cut off. The tools should be tempered the same 
as a cold chisel, as described later, and they will be 
found a very useful addition to the blacksmith's outfit. 
To break large bars of steel under the steam ham- 
mer, after nicking around the bar as shown at X, Fig. 
8, place two small, round pieces of steel A A on the 
bottom die of the steam hammer: then rest the bar 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



which is to be broken on these pieces, and place an- 
other small piece of steel on top of the bar in the cen- 
ter, at B. By striking a good solid blow the bar will 
be easily broken. A bar will break more readily if a 
little water is first poured around the nicks. 

Heating and Forging. — Carelessness in heating and 
hammering either machine or tool steel is the cause of 
many forgings proving defective after being ma- 
chined. If a piece of round steel is heated too quickly 



^ 






U 



V 



Fig. 7. Cutting-off Tools. 



and drawn down under the hammer it will be concave 
as at A, Fig. 9. This causes a parting of the metal, and 
when machined the piece will show checks and cracks 
of considerable size. The same results will follow if 
not properly hammered, even if the piece is carefully 
heated. If the blows are not heavy enough to affect 
the metal at the center of the bar the outside will draw 



MACHINE FORGING 



\ 



/ 



U 



n 



v 

Fig. 8. Breaking Large Stock. 

out, leaving the center as at A ; but if heated uniformly 
and drawn down under a hammer that gives blows 
heavy enough to affect the center of the bar, the end 
will be convex as at B, making a much stronger job. 
In the days when wrought iron was used for machine 
forging we could weld up such defects as the fore- 
going and they would not be noticed ; but with steel it 
is different and the defects cannot be hidden by weld- 





Fig. 9. 



10 THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 

ing. There is so much trouble from bad judgment in 
heating and working steel that a tool machined from 
the bar and hardened and tempered will give better 
satisfaction than if forged by the average smith. This 
caution about heating and hammering applies to work 
done on the anvil with the hand hammer as well as 
under a steam or trip hammer. The steel should be 
properly heated and the blows should be rapid and 
heavy enough to affect the center of the bar, even when 
making so small a thing as a chisel or a center punch. 
Some blacksmiths depend too much on the file for 
finishing a forging. Now, in a shop where there are 
emery wheels, shapers and planers, lathes and milling 
machines, there is no excuse for a blacksmith spend- 
ing half his time filing his work. Of course, in cross 
roads blacksmith shops this cannot be avoided ; but I 
am now referring to shops connected with the large 
factories. I like to see a smith throw his work down on 
the floor, hot, right from the hammer, and not try to 
rub all the stock off when it has to be filed or ma- 
chined to a finish in some other department. 

Tongs, like fullers, flatters and swages, are made 
by drop forging, so that the blacksmith has very little 
of this kind of work to contend with by hand. In fact, 
it does not pay to bother to make any but special tongs 
that are wanted at once and cannot be purchased or 
that it would take some time to get by sending for 
them. A quick and handy way to make a pair of light 
tongs is indicated in Fig. 10. Take a piece of flat 
stock of the size required and flatten the ends as shown 
in the two views, A and B. Then punch holes x x and 



MACHINE FORGING 



11 



cut along the dotted line in lower view, C ; round up 
the handles and rivet the two parts together ; then heat 
the jaws to a bright red and cool off, at the same time 



x O V 



Fig. 10 



-, O" 




^ Fig. 11 




Fig.12 
Method of Making Blacksmith's Tongs. 



12 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



opening and closing until cold. This allows the tongs 
to work freely instead of binding and being stiff. 
This should be done with any pair of tongs which gets 
stiff for want of use. 

If larger tongs are to be made, Fig. 11 shows how 
each jaw can be produced in three operations and in 




Fig. 13. Heading Tool. 



one heat by a smart smith and his helper. The first 
operation is to flatten down from the square stock to 
the desired size as at A, holding the piece so that the 
straight side will be toward the square end of- the anvil, 
or to the right hand of the smith, and letting the stock 
all draw out toward the left end of the anvil. After 
flattening to the desired thickness turn the arm to the 
left, giving the piece a quarter turn to the position 
shown at B, and flatten the stock where the hole is to 
be punched for the rivet. Now turn the arm holding 
the work to the left again and shove the jaw far 
enough over the anvil so that the piece can be forged 
in position C. Finally change ends and draw out the 
part marked X, and weld on the handle. 



MACHINE FORGING 13 

The size of a pair of tongs is governed by the 
length of the part from A to B in Fig. 12 ; and also re- 
member that all flat jaw tongs should be grooved with 
a V or oval as in the end views C and D in Fig. 12. 
This allows the smith to hold any shape stock that 
comes his way. The indentation should be only part 
way along the jaw as indicated by the dotted line at X. 

Heading Tool. — Fig. 13 shows a handy heading tool 
for special work that cannot be done in the common 
heading tool. The heavy part A should be of tool 
steel and the handles B and C, which are of machine 
steel, welded on. The tool can be made in different 
sizes and different sized holes drilled when the heading 
tool is closed, to accommodate work of different dimen- 
sions. The two parts of the tool should be fastened 
together with a strong rivet. 

Bending Fork. — In Fig. 14 is a side and edge view 
of a smith's bending fork, a very handy tool and one 
easily made. It has a square shank B to fit in the 
anvil and two round prongs A A by which the bend- 
ing is accomplished. A flat bar C is shown between 
the prongs in the right position for bending. 

In Fig. 15 is a bending fork to be used in the hand 
the same as a wrench. This tool is used a great deal 
by machinists and assemblers. In making this 
fork weld a round piece A to round piece B, Fig. 
16, by a cleft weld and then turn up the end as indi- 
cated by the dotted line. A stronger fork can be made 
without a weld as shown in Fig. 17. Take a flat bar 
of a size suited to the size of tool wanted and draw out 
the round handle A; and then cut out piece B along the 



14 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



dotted lines. This is perhaps the best way to make a 
bending fork if a power hammer is at hand. 



5 





A 






A 




1 




C 




\ 










Fig. 14 


B 









Fig. 15 



Fig.16 



Fig. 17 
Bending Forks. 



1 




Bevel Set. — In Fig. 18 is a bevel bottom set that 
takes the place of a fuller and must be used in conjunc- 



MACHINE FORGING 



15 



tion with the top bevel set in Fig. 19. These sets are 
better than either fullers or chisels for the class of 




Top and Bottom Bevel Sets. 

work that is started as shown in Fig. 20, where the 
part marked A is to be drawn out. It makes a neat 



16 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



small fillet x and produces a straight, square shoulder 
on the work. In Fig-. 18 A is the end view and B the 




Fig. 21. Planer Bolt. 

side view of the bottom set, while C is the end view and 
D the side view of the anvil. 

Bolts for Planers. — Fig. 21 shows a bolt for drop- 
ping into the slots in any part of a planer bed, thus 
doing away with starting at the end of the planer to 






Fig. 22. Key Puller. 

slide the bolt to place, as is done with ordinary square 
head bolts. When forging this bolt, make a T-head of 
the proper width at A to fit the planer slot; then cut 
off the corners B B. This bolt can be dropped into 



MACHINE FORGING 



17 



place and turned to the right so that faces B B will 
tighten against the inside walls of the planer slots as 
the nut is screwed up. If quite a number of these 
bolts of different lengths are furnished for each planer 
in the shop it will lessen the cost of getting out the 
planer work and will make the planer hand happy. 



Fig. 23. Assistant for Key Puller. 




Fig. 24. 

Key Puller. — A useful tool for machine shop, tool 
room, erecting room, repair department and shipping 
room is the jimmie-bar or key puller and its assistant. 
Fig. 22 shows side and front view of jimmie-bar and 
Fig. 23 side and front view of the assistant. Fig. 24 



18 



THE BLACKSMITHS GUIDE 



shows the bottom fuller in anvil, used in making: the 
jimmie-bar. The bar is made in different lengths and 
sizes, from Yi inch octagon to 1^ inch round, and 




Fig.25 



Fig.26 



Making an Open-end Wrench. 




from 12 inches to 36 inches in length. When pulling 
a key, first start it with the end of bar marked X; 
then use the other end of bar. If the key cannot be 



MACHINE FORGING 



19 



removed with the bar alone, place the assistant between 
the hub and key and you can then remove the key 
easily. This is much better than looking for half an 
hour for a block to place between the hub and key, as 
is usually done. 










i 


I 










( 


I 








< 


I 




( 


I 












X 









Fig. 27. 



Fig. 28. 



Wrench Blocks. 



Open End Wrench. — In making an open end or S 
wrench, it is the usual practice to draw out the handle 
and round up the end as in Fig. 25, and then cut out 
the opening to the size wanted as indicated by the 



20 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



dotted lines. This requires a large piece of stock, and 
while it may be best to follow this method in some 
cases, it is not always necessary. A convenient way is 
to take a small piece of steel, draw out the handle A, 
Fig. 26, split open the end as at B, spread out to the 
right angle as at C, and then bend the jaws of the 




Fig. 29. 

wrench to the required size and shape. This may be 
most conveniently done by having a wrench block as 
shown in Fig. 27, which can be made either of cast 
iron or steel and arranged to fit in the square hole in 
the anvil or in a large swage block. By having 
several steps or shoulders the wrench block will answer 
for all sizes of wrenches used in the average shop. 
The one in Fig. 27 is in five different sizes, from A to 
E, and is one of the handiest tools to be found in a 
smith shop. The square shank designed to fit the hole 
in the anvil is at X in Fig. 27. In Fig. 28 is a wrench 
block for a spanner wrench, which will be described 
shortly. 

A very strong and handy wrench can be made by 
rounding up part of a square bar and bending as in 
Fig. 29. 



MACHINE FORGING 



21 



Socket Wrench. — In making a socket wrench we 
sometimes draw down a stem on a large piece of steel, 



Z. 



X 




Fig.30 








Fig.31 




Fig. 32 
Making a Socket Wrench. 

get a hole drilled at the large end and then fit to a 
mandrel or nut, as the case may be, and weld on a 
T-handle. 



22 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



The illustrations (Figs. 30-32) show how I make a 
socket wrench for anything larger than a l / 2 -mch nut. 
In Fig. 30' assume the piece A to be Y\- by l^-inch 
flat stock ; B, a piece of ^-inch round ; and C a piece 




1 A 



Fig.3'5 
Socket and Spanner Wrenches. 



of ^-inch square stock. Make a collar from the flat 
stock as at A, Fig. 31 ; also a collar from the %-inch 



MACHINE FORGING 23 

square stock and weld the latter on the end of the 
^-inch round bar. (See C and B, Fig. 31.) Now 
drive the bar with the collar C into the end of the col- 
lar A and weld and fit to a nut or mandrel, making a 
piece which looks like Fig. 32. By welding a cross 
piece on the other end of the ^g-inch round bar we 
have a T-handle socket wrench as in Fig. 33. Again, 
by bending the bar B (Fig. 34) and riveting on a 
wooden block D at the end we have a brace which is 
very handy for putting on nuts rapidly where there is 
a lot of this work to do. 

Spanner Wrench. — Fig. 35 shows a spanner wrench, 
a tool that blacksmiths are sometimes called upon to 
make in different sizes. It must be made the proper 
shape to give satisfaction to the user. In some cases 
the part marked A, Fig. 35, is required to be round, 
and in others oblong. A block for bending this kind 
of a wrench was shown in Fig. 28. This form or 
block (same as in Fig. 27) can be set in the anvil or 
swage block by having a square shank X. Have a 
row of keyways cut along one side at a, a, etc., and 
a row of different sized holes drilled on the opposite 
side b , b, etc. This forms a handy tool for bending 
a spanner wrench to the proper size in one heat. 

Turnbuckle or Swivel. — Directions will first be 
given for the swivel, since the same steps are followed 
in making a turnbuckle. First select a piece of flat 
stock and bend into a collar like the one in Fig. 36, 
with the ends separated at A by about Y% inch, this 
distance depending somewhat upon the size of swivel 
that is to be made. This collar is to form the threaded 
part of the swivel. Cut a groove y y on each side of 



24 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



the collar. Now take a piece of round stock of the 
size required for the yoke, and bend as in Fig. 37, 
making the distance x x between the two ends y% inch 
less than the distance 3' y between the grooves of the 
collar in Fig. 36. This is so that when the yoke is 
sprung over the collar ready for welding it will stay 



Fig. 36 





a 



kx 



Fig.37 
Pieces for Making a Swivel. 



in place. Drive the yoke down along the grooves y y, 
take a welding heat and weld as shown in Fig. 38, 
where A is the collar, B a mandrel driven. into the col- 
lar, C and D swages, and E the anvil. By having the 
mandrel ready to slip in the collar it forms a solid sup- 
port when welding with the two swages. Fig. 39 
shows two views of a completed swivel. 



MACHINE FORGING 



25 



In making a turnbuckle, first complete a swivel as 
above directed, and then cut through at X, Fig. 38, 
straighten out the yoke at the ends, and weld to another 
collar, repeating the operations above outlined for the 
other end of the turnbuckle". 




Fig.39 
A Completed Swivel and Method of Forging. 



26 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



Crankshaft. — If called upon to make a crankshaft, 
as in Fig. 41, with two cranks, first forge with both 
cranks on the same side, as in Fig. 40 ; then heat at X 
and twist into shape.* In this way it can be made 
from smaller stock than as though it were forged at 
first with the cranks opposite in their correct relative 
positions. 



Fig.40 



Fig.41 
Crankshaft. 



Making a Square Corner in Heavy Stock. — I have 
known blacksmiths to work hard for four or five hours 
on a job like Fig. 42, made from 2^ -inch square 
stock, when, if they had followed the method here 
described, it could have been done in half the time and 
would have given just as good satisfaction. All smiths 
know how difficult it is to square up the outside cor- 
ner of a piece made from 2^-inch square stock, as at 
X, Fig. 42. To make an angle like this, select a piece 
of square stock of the size called for by the drawing, 
allowing for finish if required. With the hot chisel 
cut about half way through the bar as at A, Fig. 43, 



MACHINE FORGING 



27 



and bend as shown at B, which will open up the out- 
side corner, as indicated at x, and give an opportunity 
to weld in a piece for the purpose of building up a 
good, solid square corner. To do this, take a bar C of 



Fig. 42 



ar 



Fig.43 
Forging a Square Corner. 



smaller square stock, heat and cut one end nearly off. 
Xow even up the sides of the opening in the corner of 
B, take a welding heat on the end of C, and weld the 
piece cut off from the smaller bar into the open corner 
of B. The corner can then be hammered out square 
and true, as indicated by the dotted lines, and the job 
will be stronger and done much quicker than by trying 



28 THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 

to square it by pecking at it until you are tired and 
get a cold shut in the inside corner of the angle, as 
vou are almost sure to do. 



B 






X 



D 



Fig. 44. Making a Double Angle. 



Making a Double Angle. — Another troublesome job 
is to make a double angle from any flat stock over 
one half inch thick. To do this, take a square bar of 
the required size and cut as shown at A, Fig. 44, and 
cut off the corner at the dotted line. Then, with a set 
hammer drive down part x, getting the piece into the 
shape shown at B. Finally, cut off the right-hand end, 
along the dotted line a b and repeat the operation for 
the second angle, as indicated at C, thus getting a 
good, solid forging, like that shown at D, where the 
end view appears at the left and the side view at the 
right. Even if making a single angle, as at E, it is 
better to make it in this same wav if above half an 



MACHINE FORGING 29 

inch thick and two inches wide, for the simple reason 
that after all your hard work in the usual way of 
bending and working up a square corner, you will 
always find a cold shut at the inside corner. 

Directions for Welding. — Before going further 
with machine forgings we will take up the question of 
welding. I have seen blacksmiths take a dozen heats 
trying to make a weld and put in six or eight "dutch- 
men" before they got through with it. The dutch- 
men can be used to good advantage in some cases, as 
I will explain further on, but in other cases they 
should not be used. For good welding the fire must 
be kept in shape. It should be deep and have a clean, 
heavy bed underneath the parts about to be welded. 
Only just enough blast should be used to supply the 
required heat, and the heating should be done slowly 
rather than too fast. Underheating will give a bark 
w T eld. The pieces will stick on the outside and be open 
inside, making a deceptive and dangerous piece of 
work. If the fire is shallow and dirty the oxygen will 
oxidize the parts, making it impossible to weld them. 
Fluxes are used to prevent the oxidation of the steel 
or iron. Any good flux that will exclude the air will 
answer. About as good as any that I have used, and 
one of the cheapest, is powder made by pounding up 
white marble chips. This powder will not fall off and 
leave the steel exposed to the air. For welding tool 
steel there is nothing better than borax. In placing 
pieces in the fire after scarfing and dipping in the flux, 
always turn them so the scarf will come uppermost, 
thus keeping the scarf away from the blast and pre- 
venting the flux from dropping off into the fire ; but 



30 THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 

just before the pieces are ready to be removed from 
the fire turn the scarf down, and when taking out to 
weld, tap lightly, to shake off the dirt, but not hard 
enough to remove the flux. By keeping a clean fire a 
smith should have no trouble in welding any kind of 
weldable steel or iron. 

We will now consider the different kinds of welds : 
Scarf, butt, lap, cleft and jump welds. 




Fig. 45 




Fig.46 
Correctly formed Scarfs for Welding. 

Scarf Weld. — If about to make a scarf weld with 
round stock, the scarf should be made narrow, as at A, 
Fig. 45, which shows the top and side view of the same 
piece. Some smiths make the scarf wider than the 
bar to be welded, which is not a correct method, since 
in striking on the edge of the weld the thin part of the 
scarf will pucker and cool so quickly that another heat 
is necessary. Then the dirt will get in and a bad weld 



MACHINE FORGING 



31 



is the result, and especially so if flat stock is being 
welded. Flat stock should be scarfed about as in Fig. 
46, which shows the edge and bottom views of a piece 
of stock. 

Two Heats to Make a Weld. — A remedy for this 
useless waste of time and poor work in making a scarf 
weld is to locate the pieces with respect to the anvil as 



J 



J 




V 



Fig. 47. Making a Scarf Weld. 

in the two views in Fig. 47. When the helper takes the 
piece from the fire, he usually places it so the thin part 
of the scarf is at about the center of the anvil. The 
anvil chills the thin part of the scarf and by the time 
the smith sticks the scarf on top and turns the piece 
over to weld the other side he finds he must take an- 
other heat ; and before he does so he will probably dig 
his fire all to pieces to start it up brighter, thinking, of 



32 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



course, that the fire was to blame. Now, if the helper, 
in taking the piece A from the fire, will place it as 
shown in the upper view, Fig. 47, so that the point of 



Fig.48 



1 

1 




X 





Fig. 49 
Butt and Lap Welding. 

the bottom scarf will not touch the anvil, and the 
smith stick the top scarf with his hammer, and then 



D 



D 



i/M< 





Fig. 50. Cleft Weld. 

turn the piece over, placing as in the lower view, and 
both smith and helper go after it lively, there will be 
no trouble about welding. 



MACHINE FORGING 33 

Butt Weld. — The butt weld is the strongest weld 
for heavy, round stock, and is the easiest weld to make. 
The ends of the pieces to be welded should be slightly 
convex, as at A A, Fig. 48. This allows the centers to 
come together and also permits the slag to escape. 
The hammering done on the ends of the bar in making 
this weld supplies all the jumping up required; for if 
jumped up too much before welding the centers are 
liable to be drawn apart when drawing the piece down 
to size. 

Lap Weld. — The most important points to observe 
in making a lap weld are to strike first at the center 
(X in Fig. 49) and then work outward from the cen- 
ter in all four directions. This will work out the slag 
and leave a clean, strong weld. 

Cleft Weld. — In Fig. 50 is an end and a side view of 
a cleft or T-weld made with round stock. It is im- 
portant to make it as strong as possible at the center A, 
in order to make a good weld, so we first stick lips 
B B to the lower bar at points C C. One must strike a 
few heavy, rapid blows on top of part D, to drive out 
the slag. If slag is not removed we cannot get a good 
weld of any kind. Bulge C is made by using the ball 
pene of the hammer, if the piece to be welded is small. 
If it is a large piece a ball pene top tool is used and 
the metal worked out from the bar gradually. 

Jump Welding. — In Fig. 51 are two views to illus- 
trate jump welding. The point A should be so 
shaped that it will touch part B first, before the edges 
come in contact. By looking out for this and striking 
heavy blows on the end of piece C all the slag can be 



34 



THE BLACKSMITHS GUIDE 



driven out from between the two pieces being welded. 
When the pieces are well stuck together, use the fuller 
around shoulder D. Fig. 52 shows the jump weld job 
when completed. It will be noticed that the stem C is 
on the opposite side from where it is in Fig. 51, mak- 
ing it necessary to show the stem by a dotted circle 



<'B 



Fig.51 








/ 

1 


\ 
\ 


1 
\ 

\ 


1 
/ 



Fig.52 
Jump Welding. 

instead of by a circle drawn with a full line as in Fig. 
51. This explanation is just to help out on the drawing 
question. 

Welding a Ring. — In making a ring, large or small, 
most blacksmiths heat a bar for a distance of about 12 
inches and bend it over the horn of the anvil ; then heat 
a little more and bend and fit to a circle on a board or 
face plate. After they have bent what they think is 



MACHINE FORGING 



35 



enough stock to complete the circle and weld they cut 
the bent piece off the bar and scarf and weld it. After 
welding the ring it may perhaps be necessary to draw 




FINISH ALL OVER 

Fig. 53 




Fig. 54 




Fig.55 



Welding a Ring. 




it until there is no stock left for the lathe hand to take 
off ; or if the ring is too big it must be cut and welded 
again. 



36 THE BLA CKSM1 TH'S G UIDE 

I am now going to give a simple rule for welding a 
ring that is worth more than five times the price of 
this book. It is a rule for making a ring no matter 
how large or small. I have made large rings from two- 
inch square stock for the smoke boxes of locomotives 
and never had anything more to do to them when 
finished than true them up and lay in a pile ready for 
drilling. The rule is as follows : 

Add the thickness of the material to the inside 
diameter; multiply by 22; and divide by 7. 

This furnishes jump-up stock and the amount for 
welding in all cases. For instance, if I had to make a 
ring to finish 1% by Y% inch, 13% inches outside 
diameter and 12 inches inside diameter, as in Fig. 53, 
I would use stock 1 by 2 inches. I would add the 
thickness of the stock, which is one inch, to the inside 
diameter, which is 12 inches, making 13 inches. Mul- 
tiplying this by 22 gives 286 and dividing by 7 gives 
40% inches. I would cut off a piece of this length, 
jump up the ends and scarf each end on the same side 
as in Fig. 54 ; then bend backward, as in Fig. 55. Any 
blacksmith who tries this method of making rings 
will never make them in the old-fashioned way again. 
Some smiths require more for welding than others, in 
which case some may have to cut off more to allow 
for this. Of course the way to do is to try it out for 
yourself and become convinced as to the operation of 
the rule and determine whether allowance for more 
stock must be made in your case. The rule is adapted 
for stock of any shape, as round, flat, square, etc. 



MACHINE FORGING 



37 



Welding Solid Ends in Pipe. — For the benefit of 
blacksmiths who are up against the steel-pipe roll weld- 
ing proposition, I will give my experience along that 
line. I have welded steel pipe in sizes from 1 inch to 3 
inches for over eight years, making hollow rolls with 
solid ends used in the construction of printing presses. 




rig. Do 



Fig.57 
Welding Solid Ends in Pipe. 



The rolls are turned and finished to a certain size after 
they leave the blacksmith. During this period that I 
was on printing press work I have seen a number of 
smiths who were not successful in welding up their 
rolls. Some would try to drive a hot plug into a cold 
pipe ; others would try to drive a cold plug into a hot 
pipe and when they tried to weld the pipe it would 
pucker up and the job was thrown into the scrap. I 
have seen the plug fall out in the lathe after turning 



38 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



oft stock at the end of the roll (Am Fig. 56) and I 
have also seen the rolls scrapped on account of being 
too small at point B. 

Of the thousands of pipe rolls I have welded I have 
been fortunate enough not to lose one, and my method 
was as follows : First I had the rolls cut off to the 
finished length and no more. Then I made the plug 
as shown in Fig. 57, nearly y 2 inch larger at B than 





a — 



Fig. 58. The use of a "Dutchman." 



at A. The plug would just start in the pipe at A. I 
heated both pipe and plug as hot as I dared to and 
drove together as quickly as possible and returned to 
the fire to take a welding heat. When welding I 
would get around the pipe quickly. You cannot get a 
good welding heat on a plug after it is driven into a 
pipe cold, or at a low heat. By leaving the plug large 
at B B it gives you something to hammer on and draws 



MACHINE FORGING 39 

out long enough to furnish stock for turning to finished 
length. Fig. 56 shows a pipe roll after being welded. 

The Use of "Dutchmen." — The small piece shown 
in Fig. 58 is commonly called a "dutchman" and is 
ordinarily used in covering up a bad spot, or to help 
out a poor weld. It is, however, used to good ad- 
vantage in lengthening a bar, as it keeps it up to size 
and at the same time gives the desired extra length and 
saves cutting and welding. A dutchman is usually 
made by thinning down one side of a round bar, and 
should be wider at the top than at the bottom. If you 
want to lengthen a large bar heat a spot on the bar and 
drive in the hot chisel ; then drive the cold dutchman 
in the hot bar, as shown at A; then take a welding 
heat and you will be surprised at what a nice job can 
be done in a short time. The dutchman should not be 
driven in more than one quarter the depth of the bar. 
If the bar needs drawing very much you can use a 
dutchman on each side. 



CHAPTER II. 
TOOL FORGING. 

Systematic Arrangement of Work. — It is seldom 
that the foremen in machine shops give sufficient at- 
tention to the systematic handling of the tool work 
that is sent to the blacksmith shop. A man will leave 
his lathe, go to the blacksmith shop, and wait for a tool 
to be dressed or tempered, as the case may be, when 
perhaps he could have found what was wanted on the 
floor of his own department. I have seen as many as 
six lathe men standing around the tool dresser waiting 
for tools and as many as one hundred worn out lathe 
tools that needed dressing lying around on the floor 
under the feet of the workmen. A smith cannot do 
good work under these conditions, and although he 
may be the best workman in the country, he will be 
all at sea under such circumstances. 

A plan that I have followed for the systematic 
handling of tool work, and have had adopted in dif- 
ferent shops where I have been employed, is to have 
cupboards in different departments of the machine 
shop, as illustrated in Fig. 1. The foreman can keep 
his coat and hat in the part marked A, and tools to be 
dressed or tempered are to be placed on the shelves 
marked B. Tools that have been dressed and tem- 
pered are to be placed on the shelves marked C. This 
latter part is kept locked except when taking out tools 
to give to machine hands, or when putting in tools 
that come from the smith shop. There are two keys 
for this, one for the foreman and one for the boy who 



TOOL FORGING 



41 



takes the tools from the compartments B to be dressed 
or tempered, and replaces when finished to shelves C. 
In this way the different kinds of tools can be sepa- 
rated, each kind having a shelf. If the door is not 
kept locked, one workman may have more than his 
share of tools, while his neighbor will not have enough. 



i 




w 




Fig. 1. Tool Cupboard for Machine Shop. 

The section at the left has no door and any ma- 
chinist having tools that need dressing can put them 
on the shelves himself, which saves time and gives 
satisfaction to all concerned. 

To go with the cupboards located in the machine 
shop, the blacksmithing department should have a box 
similar to that illustrated in Fig. 2. It should be 
divided into as many spaces as there are departments in 



42 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



the factory, and placed near the tool dresser's place of 
business. Each space should be marked with the de- 
partment number (see 1, 2, 3, etc., in Fig. 2) and all 
tools and small parts brought into the blacksmith shop 
should be deposited in the proper compartment. With 
this arrangement the boy delivering the tools cannot 
mai<e a mistake, and the tool dresser has perfect free- 
dom to work to the best advantage, which is not the 
case where a man goes into the blacksmith shop with a 
tool and wants to know how long before he can have 
it, saying that he cannot do anything until he gets it, 
and so on ; and then before he leaves another arrives, 



X. 1 


N^ O 




>. 3 
















'x 4 

N^ X 






S N 5 


N. 


V\ v 6 

X. X 


v x 




















\ 




X | 

X N 1 

"-. 1 


X 


X x 








>v 


































X J 






V 



Fig. 2. Tool Tray for Smith Shop. 

and then another until, as I have said before, there 
may be six men standing around the tool dresser talk- 
ing, arguing and nearly quarrelling. The system de- 
scribed above obviates this, and in every instance 
where I have brought it to the attention of those con- 
cerned it has been approved and adopted. 

Care in Heating. — One cause of poor results in tool 
work lies in the smith's carelessness in heating steel, 
going to the extremes by heating it either too fast or 
too slowly. I have known smiths to have a tool in the 
fire, heating it for dressing, when some one would 



TOOL FORGING 43 

come along looking for a chance to kill time. The 
two would get into a conversation, the smith leaving 
the blast on a little, until the tool became too hot, 
when he would remove it from the fire. After a little 
while he would put the tool back and heat it to a white 
heat, then remove it again, and repeat this operation 
perhaps half a dozen times before his company would 
leave. But tools handled in this way may as well be 
thrown away as to be sent into the machine shop, as 
they will not stand up to their work. 

Putting a tool in the fire and not turning it over at 
all is very bad practice. A smith should put the tool or 
steel in the fire, cover it and roll it over repeatedly. 
He should watch it carefully, and heat it slowly. 
When it reaches the proper heat he should go at his 
work in earnest, striking heavy blows until it begins 
to cool off, after which lighter blows will do, depend- 
ing of course, upon the kind of tool. 

A smith engaged in tool work should not do any 
welding if he can avoid it. If not kept busy on tools 
he should be at some work that requires a low heat. 
Welding will cause him to become careless and he will 
spoil the tools in spite of himself. 

Patterns. — A foreman smith should have patterns 
of all kinds of lathe tools,' made from pine. In this 
way he can have any one of the blacksmiths make 
tools, thus teaching them to take the tool dresser's 
place should the tool dresser leave. I have known a 
foreman to take a worn-out lathe tool to the smith to 
be redressed and neither one understood what was 
wanted. The order system and the wooden patterns 
would do awav with this trouble. When a smith 



44 THE BLACKSMITHS GUIDE 

makes a new tool he should stamp on it the kind or 
grade of steel used. 

Bevel Set. — The tool dresser's most important as- 
sistant in making a success of tool work is the bevel 
set hammer, shown in Fig. 19, Chapter I. It makes 
one straight side on all his work and leaves a fillet, in- 
stead of a sharp corner to crack in tempering. It can 
be used in nearly all kinds of tool work shown in this 
book. It is much better than a fuller, which makes a 
rough looking job at the best. 

The next important point is to have about three 
inches on each side of the anvil rounded to about J^- 
inch radius. This furnishes the necessary fillet so es- 
sential in all machine tool work. The balance of the 
anvil face can have sharp corners which are very nice 
for some kinds of machine steel forgings. 

Directions will now be given for forging the more 
common tools used in machine tool and hand work 
that the blacksmith has to deal with, and in Chapter 
III. the hardening and tempering cf these tools will 
be taken up. 

Cold Chisels require more attention than is given 
them by the majority of blacksmiths, who either do not 
know or do not care. There is no class of tools in 
any plant, large or small, that we hear more grumbling 
about than the cold chisel. Very frequently a ma- 
chinist buys his own steel and has a chisel made by 
some one other than the one used to doing his work, in 
the hope of getting a good tool, when the steel in the 
factory where he works is no doubt just as good as 
that which he buys and the factory smith can make 
just as good a chisel by being a little careful. The 



TOOL FORGING 45 

trouble is that the tool dresser has a lot of work of 
this kind to do, and, thinking that anything will 
answer for a cold chisel, he becomes careless. He 
does not think of the inconvenience to which the user 
is put if he has to produce results and make a good 
showing with a poor cold chisel. 

When making a chisel it should be heated slowly so 
as to heat all through and when taken out of the fire 
it should be worked with heavy blows while it is hot. 
Hammer on the edge as little as possible and always 



SIDE VIEW 




,-. EDGE VIEW 

Fig. 3 



Fig.4 
Right and Wrong Shapes for Cold Chisels. 

strike the final blows on the flat part of the tool. When 
it commences to cool it should be reheated and 
should always be drawn down square ; then it should be 
widened to the proper width, which should never be 
as wide as the bar it is made from. Fig. 3 shows the 
proper idea for a flat cold chisel and Fig. 4 the wrong 
way to leave a chisel. The end A should be ground a 
little rounding and should not be as wide as part B. 



46 THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 

If the end is left wider than the bar, it will nearly 
always break at one corner, as shown by the dotted 
line in Fig. 4. 

Cape Chisels, Grooving Chisels, Etc. — A cape chisel 
Fig. 5, should be drawn down square at first, then ful- 
lered as in Fig. G, then forged to shape as in Fig. 5. All 
chisels and punches s'hould first be drawn down square 
before forging to shape, as by so doing the center of 
the steel comes out as at A, Fig. 6. Another important 
thing about chisels is always to cut plenty off the 
drawn out end. Make a cut on each side and after 
the chisel is tempered, break off. (See dotted line at 
B, Fig. 5.) 



!>- 



TOP VIEW 




Fig. 5 

SIDE VIEW 




Fig. 6 

Cape Chisel. 

A round-nose chisel is made about the same -as a 
cape chisel, only a swage, as shown in Fig. 10, is used 
to make one side round. The chisel can be made in 
different sizes by having different sized grooves in the 
swage. The grooves should be deeper on the end 



TOOL FORGING 



47 



nearest the smith, and run almost out at the other side 
(see dotted line in the figure) to get the best results. 
In Fig. 7 is a common round-nose chisel. 



>- 



D 




Fig. 7 



c 



IV" 




Fig. 8 





Fig. 9 
Round Nose, Grooving and Diamond Point Chisels. 

Fig. 8 shows a grooving chisel for making oil 
grooves in bearings. Some smiths bend the common 
round-nose chisel to the shape of Fig. 8 at A, but it 
will either bend or break off. 



48 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



Fig. 9 shows a diamond point chisel and Fig. 11 the 
side and end view of the swage for making such tools 
as diamond point chisels and other three-cornered 
pieces. 

Screw Driver. — In Fig. 12 is a screw driver that will 
be appreciated in tool room or machine shop. It can 
be made from round or flat steel. I have sometimes 



Fig. 10 





Fig. 11 



Swages used in making Chisels. 



made them from octagon steel. This is a very handy 
tool. 

Tools from Files. — Sometimes a smith is called on to 
make small tools, such as scrapers, small chisels, 



TOOL FORGING 49 

punches, etc., from old files. In such cases the files 
should always be ground smooth before making a tool 
of any kind from them, as the nicks and grooves will 
pound into the steel, causing the steel to crack in 
hardening. 

Cutting-off Tool. — The first lathe tool that we will 
take up will be the cutting-off or parting tool. Fig. 13 
shows how it should be made. Always use the set ham- 
mer shown in Fig. 19, Chapter I., then flatten down 
as in Fig. 14, keeping the top side straight and letting 



Fig. 12. A Handy Scrsw Driver. 

the surplus stock go down on the lower edge of the 
tool. Do not hammer on the edge, but trim off as 
shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 15. Some cutting- 
off tools are used straight and some are bent. (See 
Figs. 16 and 17.) 

Fig. 18 shows two views of a cutting-off tool that is 
a favorite with machinists who have used it. It is made 
by offsetting the stock before forging the blade. This 
offsetting can best be done under the dies of the steam 
hammer if one is at hand, as illustrated in Figs. 19 



: 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



and 20. Here A is the piece to be offset, CC are two 
tool steel blocks so placed as to perform the offsetting, 



Fig. 13 



Fig. 14 



Fig. 15 




Fig. 16 



Fig. 17 





Fig. 18 
Making Cutting-off Tools. 



TOOL FORGING 



51 



and BB are the steam hammer dies. Fig. 20 shows the 
piece after being offset. Great care must be taken 
when doing this, as there is danger of either of the 
blocks CC shooting out if the piece about to be offset 
is not properly heated. Once I had the painful ex- 




Fig. 19. 



\ 




B 




r 


*\ 


C 






c 


L_ 


1 




B 




i 



Fig. 20. 



Offsetting Stock. 



perience of being struck on the knee by one of the 
pieces shooting out, caused by the carelessness of the 
blacksmith who was inexperienced in tool steel work 
and was trying to offset a piece of lathe tool steel at 
too low a heat. There is no danger if the piece is 
properly heated. 

Side Tools. — In Fig. 21 is a top and side view of a 
side tool. It should not be pounded on its edges but 
should first be formed to shape on the lower edge, A, 
causing the metal to flow toward the top of the tool as 
indicated in Fig. 22. The edges should then be trim- 
med as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 22. The 
cutting edge should be a little higher at point marked 
E than it is at heel marked F. When cutting, start 



52 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



chisel at C and incline the chisel at an angle so as to 
run out at D. The same clearance should be given the 
end of the tool as at the top. 

Figs. 23 and 24 still further show the process of 
forming the tool on the anvil. It will be noticed in 
Fig. 23 that the tool is placed on the anvil with the 
top side down and that the bottom of the tool is being 



7 




Side Tool. 



Fig. 22 



brought to shape by the blows of the hammer. In Fig. 
24 the edge of the tool is being drawn down thin on the 
face of the anvil, leaving the back of the tool at A as 
thick as the bar it is made from. Side tools are made 
right and left hand as the case may be. The one in 
Fig. 21 is a right-hand tool. 

Boring Tool. — Next is the boring tool. After using 
the bevel set, Fig. 25, draw out as in Fig. 26. The 
lower view, Fig. 26, shows the boring tool after the lip 



TOOL FORGING 



53 



has been turned. Fig. 27 shows the process of turning 
the lip over the round part on the anvil face. The lip 
on the boring tool should be made in the shape of a 
hook for turning tool steel, machine steel or wrought 
iron, as in Fig. 28. The hook can be formed by using 




Forging a Side Tool. 

the bottom fuller, as in Fig. 29. If boring tool is for 
brass the lip should have no hook, but should slant 
slightly from heel to point. Figs. 30 and 31 show the 
cutting parts for a brass-cutting tool. 

The advantage of having round corners along part 
of the front and back edges of the anvil is well illus- 
trated in the case of this tool, since they enable the tool 
to be forged with fillets instead of sharp corners at 



54 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



points A and B, Fig. 26, making it much stronger and 
less liable to crack in hardening. 



Fig. 25 




f 




Fig. 26 




Fig. 30 



J^ Fig. 31 






Fig. 28 



Fig. 27 




Fig. 29 
The Steps in the Forging of Boring Tools. 

After a boring tool has been in use for some time and 
has been to the blacksmith to be dressed a number of 



TOOL FORGING 



55 



times, it usually requires lengthening. In doing this, 
do not attempt to cut out a piece, as in Fig. 33, as you 
are almost sure to get a cold shut. Just take the bevel 
set and drive down as shown at A, Fig. 32, cut off the 




--a 



I? 



Fig. 32 




Lengthening a Boring Tool — Threading Tool. 



corner at B, and then draw out. If you have to 
lengthen an almost new tool the operation will throw 
the lip upside down, but by twisting the round part of 
the tool it will put it back where it belongs. 



J 



> 




Fig. 35. Threading Tool. 



Threading Tools. — An inside threading tool is made 
about the same as a boring tool, only the point is cut 



56 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



off differently, asi shown in Fig. 34. An outside thread- 
ing tool is made about the same as a cut-off tool, only 
it is cut to a point instead of square. (See Fig. 35.) 
It can be cut out underneath as at A, Fig. 35, which 
leaves less grinding for the lathe hand, and a thread- 
ing tool, not having to endure much strain, need not 
be very wide, like a cut-off tool, which has hard work 
to perform. 





Fig. 36 




Fig. 37 
Roughing Tools. 



Roughing Tool. — In Fig. 36 is a top and side view 
of a roughing tool which is very much in demand and 
is one of the tools that is used both by lathe and planer 
hands, and is easy to make. Just draw out like a com- 
mon round-nose tool, and then with a half-round or C 



TOOL FORGING 



57 



chisel cut out the portion marked x. Start the chisel 
at A, and slant enough to let the chisel run out at B. 




Fig. 39 



Fig. 40 
Finishing Tools. 





' 






— \ 

=1 



If the tool is for a planer it should be forged the same 
as shown by the dotted lines, giving less clearance than 



58 THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 

where used for lathe work. These tools are made both 
right and left hand. The one shown feeds toward the 
left and should be straight along the left side. The 
dotted line in the upper view, Fig. 36, indicates clear- 
ance, if tool is for planer or shaper. All planer and 
shaper tools should have less clearance than lathe tools, 
for both roughing and finishing. 

Fig. 37 shows a roughing tool for shapers, and it 
can be ground so as to be used for either right hand 
or left hand. The dotted line in the upper view in- 
dicates the amount of clearance the tool should have. 

Finishing Tools. — For cast iron there is no better 
tool for finishing than the one shown in Fig. 38. It 
should be made quite thin and wide at A and the cut- 
ting edge should not be more than y% inch above 
the bottom of the bar and should be tempered quite 
hard. There is no tool that will make a better finishing 
cut on cast iron than this one. 

Fig. 39 illustrates a lathe finishing tool which works 
well on all kinds of steel and cast iron. This tool 
should be tempered very hard as it has little to take off 
and stands small chance of breaking. 

In Fig. 40 are views of a finishing tool for steel on 
planer and shaper work, and which is used both right 
and left. This makes a nice finishing cut on all kinds 
of steel and, like other finishing tools, should be tem- 
pered very hard. 

Centering Tools. — In Fig. 41 is shown a centering 
tool which differs from the ordinary tool of this de- 
scription in having the end bent at an angle of 45 
degrees. It is the only centering tool the machinist 
will use after once trying it. A straight centering tool 



TOOL FORGING 



59 



is shown in Fig. 4=2, and in Fig. 43 is a centering tool 
made out of round steel, for turret lathes. In making 
these tools they should be flattened out and trimmed 
off the same as a long, slender drill. Never try to 
hammer to shape; always trim off, as it makes much 
better tools. They should not be tempered very hard, 
as they have a delicate task to perform. 




Fig.41 




Fig. 42 




Fig. 43 
Centering Tools. 



Diamond Point. — The tool holder and high-speed 
steels have driven the diamond point lathe and planer 



60 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



tool almost out of commission, although it can still be 
found in use in some shops. To forge a diamond point, 
drive the fuller about half way through the bar as at 
A in No. 1, Fig. 44. Hold on anvil as shown in No. 
2, striking heavy blows on corner A, and then turn so 
corner B will come up, as in No. 3, and strike heavy 
blows. Repeat this operation until you have the end 



No.1 




A 
Fig. 44 



Method of Making a Diamond Point. 



drawn square. If for a right-hand tool, place on the 
anvil, as in No. 4, holding the tongs in the left hand 
and hot chisel in the right hand, and start the chisel at 



TOOL FORGING 



61 



A, with top of chisel leaning well towards you, thus 
giving clearance to the tool. If for a left-hand tool 
proceed as in No. 5, holding tongs in right hand and 
chisel in left hand, starting chisel at A. 




Fig. 45. Diamond Point for Lathe. 

If the diamond point is to be a right-hand lathe 
tool, it should be slightly curved as at A, Fig. 45 and 
bent a little as at B. If for a left-hand lathe tool, it 




B> 



Fig. 46. Diamond Point for Planer. 

should be bent the reverse, as at C. If the tool is for 
a planer or shaper, it should have very little clearance 
as at D, Fig. 46, and should be left straight as at E. 



62 THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 

Round-Nose Tool. — The common round-nose tool, 
shown in Fig. 47, is used to finish fillets in work and 
should slant slightly from B to A, making the point B 
a little higher than the top of the bar. 




Fig. 47. Round-nose Tool. 



Brass Turning Tool. — A V-tool, which is the best 
tool for brass turning, is shown in Fig. 48. It should 
be so made as to slope down slightly from A to B, and 
should be tempered very hard. 




Fig. 48. Brass-cutting Tool. 

Rock Drill. — While not to be classed with machine 
shop tools, the making of a rock drill is a tool steel job 
that a blacksmith often has to do. Fig. 49 shows how 
to make a four-lip rock drill, the fastest working rock 



TOOL FORGING 



63 



drill to be had and one that is easily made. After draw- 
ing the shank A down to the desired size, take the top 
and bottom fuller (about a half-inch fuller, if the drill 
is to be standard size), and form as at B in the two 
upper views. Then draw out the parts CC, etc., to the 
shape shown in the two lower views, and trim off with 
the chisel, cutting the edge as shown. This drill 
should be tempered the same as cold chisels, described 
in the next chapter. 












B 


A V 













No.1 



No. 2 




No.3 No.4 

Fig. 49. Four-lip Rock Drill. 



To Make Tool Steel Rings or Dies without Weld- 
ing. — All workers in tool steel know that after a piece 
of tool steel has been welded it will not have the same 
fine grain as before. In spite of all we can do the part 
welded will have a coarse grain and much strain will 
cause it to crack so that in tempering it there is liable 
to be more or less trouble from this cause. In makinsr 



64 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



dies, therefore, it is always advisable to avoid welding, 
which can be done as follows : 

Select a piece of steel of a suitable quality and of 
the right thickness for making the die. The piece 




Fig. 50 




Fig.51 
Tool Steel Ring Made without Welding. 



should be one half the length and double the width that 
would be used in welding a ring according to the direc- 
tions already given. Fig. 50 shows the piece of steel 
and the method of opening it up for the die. First cut 



TOOL FORGING 65 

off the corners A A. Then punch holes BB far enough 
from the ends to leave stock to clean up. Split along 
the dotted line BB and open up as in Fig. 51 and form 




Fig. 52. Completed Ring. 

a perfect ring. This method should be followed in 
making either tool steel rings or dies. It is just as 
easy as welding and makes a much better job. 



CHAPTER III. 
HARDENING AND TEMPERING. 

When a piece of tool steel is treated to make it 
harder, we speak of the process as "hardening" and 
when a piece of tool steel, already very hard, is treated 
to make it suitable for a cutting tool by drawing the 
temper, the process is called "tempering." When a 
piece is heated to the correct temperature and dipped, 
according to directions that will be given, it is usually 
not necessary to draw the temper and the process is 
properly called hardening, although the treatment of 
steel for cutting tools is frequently called tempering, re- 
gardless of whether the temper has to be drawn or not. 
This is because it always used to be the custom to 
harden the steel and then draw the temper, the whole 
process finally coming to be called "tempering." 

The art of hardening and tempering high-grade 
tools is understood by very few mechanics and the 
majority have had but little experience in tempering 
even a cold chisel. It is commonly thought that tools, 
bought in standard sizes and in large quantities by the 
factories throughout the country, and stamped with 
the trademark of some large firm, are O. K., and most 
mechanics would give a great deal to know how to 
harden tools the way these are hardened. I have 
known a machine shop foreman to send into the 
smithing department a lot of machine steel pieces to be 
annealed so they could be drilled or machined ; and on 
investigation found the brand new drill that had been 
used on the pieces was too soft to drill anything except 



HARDENING AND TEMPERING 67 

lead. After hardening the drill the pieces were drilled 
and machined with ease. The fact is that foremen, 
and men under them, take for granted that because 
a drill is a twist drill, and is bought, it must neces- 
sarily be all right, whereas oftentimes the tool is not 
all right and if it were made in the shop where the work 
is being done, the man who hardened it would get the 
blame, just as he ought to. 

It is not my purpose in this book to explain how steel 
is made and what its composition is. I want, instead, 
to tell how the common blacksmith can give entire sat- 
isfaction in hardening and tempering, as carried on in 
the manufacturing plants of to-day. In the first place 
the tool steel used by the blacksmith is bought by the 
purchasing department, and when a tool comes into the 
smithing department to be hardened, it is up to the 
blacksmith to make the best of the situation and get 
the tool done as quickly as possible, without attempting 
to find out the percentage of carbon in the steel, or 
going into other scientific points. 

In my experience on nearly all kinds of tools, I have 
found that each has to be hardened to suit the class of 
work it is intended to be used upon. For instance, I 
should not treat a tool for cutting brass the same as I 
would one for cutting machine steel. The actual cause 
of a great deal of trouble in all large plants is that the 
man who is to use the tool does not inform the one who 
is to do the hardening what is required of it ; and if the 
tool fails the man using it blames the one who hardened 
it, and he, in turn, blames the steel. 

Proper and Improper Heating. — About the worst 
possible practice for the smith is to have a dirty, shal- 



68 THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 

low fire and to put a piece of tool steel in it, either to 
forge or harden. The air blowing on it ruins 
the steel, making it unfit for anything but scrap. 
Always have a good, deep, solid fire and heat tool steel 
with as little blast as time will allow, if heating for 
forging, and when heating to harden or temper, put 
in charcoal, and use no blast whatever. If these direc- 
tions are followed you will be surprised at the demand 
there will be for vour services. 

The practice of the writer in hardening tools is to 
heat in a slow fire to the lowest possible temperature 
that will secure the desired result, and then dip, ac- 
cording to the directions given. This method does 
away with much unnecessary labor and avoids warping 
and cracking of valuable tools that is sure to occur 
where they are brought to too high a temperature, 
cooled, and then have the temper drawn back. 

In order to emphasize the importance of proper and 
careful heating of tool steel, the micro-photographs in 
Figs. 1 and 2 are shown. Two bars of steel were se- 
lected, one of which was heated too hot for hardening 
and then dipped, while the other was heated slowly 
and dipped at a much lower temperature. These bars 
were then broken and the first showed a coarse, un- 
even grain and was useless for anything but scrap. 
Steel in this condition cannot be drawn to any color 
that will make it serviceable as a cutting tool. 

The second bar had a fine, uniform grain through- 
out. The difference in the structure of the two bars 
was clearly visible to the naked eye, but to make it 
more evident to the reader, very much enlarged photo- 
graphs were made of different points in the broken 



HARDENING AND TEMPERING 



69 




A. Properly heated bar — fine 
homogeneous grain. 




B. Center of overheated bar — 
coarse, uneven grain. 



Fig. 1. Micro-photographs of Bars of Tool Steel 
that were Properly and Improperly Heated. 



70 THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 

ends of the two bars and are reproduced in the illus- 
trations, Figs. 1 and 2. 

The photograph at A, Fig. 1, is from the broken 
end of the bar that was properly heated. This bar is 
uniform throughout and has a fine, even grain, as in- 
dicated in the photograph. At B, Fig. 1, is a photo- 
graph taken at the center of the bar that was over- 
heated, showing the coarse grain. Nearly the whole 
surface of the section is of this character, but at the 
outer edge, where the metal was suddenly cooled, the 
grain appears to be finer. The photograph C, Fig. 2, 
taken at this point shows the granular structure to 
have been completely destroyed. Photograph D, Fig. 
2, represents the condition in the overheated bar at a 
point between the central section and the outer edge, 
where the most marked change in structure occurred. 

If care is taken in heating steel, no attention need be 
given to drawing to any particular color afterwards. 
So many have followed the practice of drawing the 
temper of tools, however, that a few more remarks on 
this part of the subject will be in order. 

Drawing the Temper. — I have read in books on 
tempering, "If you think you have the tool too hard, 
hold it over the fire to remove the internal strain. " 
Now I claim that holding a tool over the fire will 
soften the cutting edges and leave the inside of the 
tool the same as before, especially if the tool happens 
to be a solid reamer or a tap. If it is a hollow mill or 
tap, and you want to "draw back," heat a bar of steel 
or iron %g inch smaller than the hole in the mill. Run 
it through the mill as in Fig. 3 and turn constantly. By 
putting a little oil on the mill you can see when it is 



HARDENING AND TEMPERING 



71 




C. Structure at edge of overheated bar. 




D. Showing change in structure near 
edge of bar. 



Fig. 2. Micro-photographs showing Variation 
in Structure of Overheated Bar. 



72 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



getting hot enough to remove. It is better to take it 
off a little too soon and let the mill cool off than to leave 
it until the last minute and then quench perfectly cold, 
as the former method leaves the tool much tougher. 
Tools hardened according to the instructions given in 
this book, however, will not need much drawing of this 
or any other kind. 




Fig. 3. Drawing the Temper of a Cutter. 



Heating to a high heat and cooling entirely cold in 
water, as so often done where dependence is placed on 
drawing the temper to secure the right degree of hard- 
ness, always produces internal strains in tools of any 
kind. All mechanics have seen tools break in pieces 
before they were cleaned up for drawing back. A 
good way to convince yourself that such strains exist 
is to take two files. Break one and heat the other to 
a high heat. Cool off entirely cold and break it, and 
compare the grain of both files. You will find that the 
last one will resemble cast iron, and there will be as 
much difference in the appearance of the two as in the 
case of the steel bar shown in Figs. 1 and 2. 



HARDENING AND TEMPERING 73 

Again, take two tools dipped at slightly different 
temperatures and drawn to the same color. Will they 
have the same temper and be able to perform the same 
amount of w r ork? I think not and yet this mistake in 
tempering is very often made. I can harden as many 
tools in five hours as anyone can in ten hours if he 
gets the tools too hard and has to "draw back," and 
tools that I have hardened by the methods described 
have records that are seldom equaled. 

Charcoal Fire. — In my opinion nothing can equal 
charcoal for heating steel for hardening and tempering. 
Of course there are such things as lead baths, expensive 
furnaces, etc. ; but how many shops have them, or will 
install them, even if the blacksmith should want them? 
His employers expect him to' make use of the things 
at hand ; and if he cannot, they will get someone who 
can. But almost any firm will buy a few hundred 
pounds of charcoal, especially when they see the results 
obtained from it when used as I am about to explain. 

A smith can have a small home-made oven or forge 
near his regular forge and while the large tools are 
heating he can work at something else, because no 
blast is used in heating with charcoal, unless in a very 
great hurry, when a small blast may be turned on. I 
have put large hollow mills in such a fire, and been 
called away. On returning twenty minutes or half an 
hour later the mill would be ready to take out and dip. 

Lead baths are very nice for heating large tools, but 
in my opinion cannot equal charcoal. With the lead 
bath you have to dip every tool at the same heat and if 
you get the lead to the heat that some tools require to 
be dipped at, it will not be right- for the others. 



74 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



Home-made Oven. — In Figs. 4 and 5 is a home- 
made oven or forge for use in hardening and tempering. 
It can be made from ^-inch sheet iron, and is supported 
by iron legs, built as shown, one at each of the four 
corners of the oven. Although shown with a stack 
and hood, at A and B respectively, neither of these 
is absolutely necessary. In fact the whole front H 




Fig. 4. Home-made Oven or Forge. 



with door C could be done without. The side view, 
Fig. 5, shows the hood slightly raised. By having 
hinges on the back, you can tip the hood back out of 
the way, if desired, and use the forge in that way, 
since there is no smoke or gas from the charcoal. 
Sometimes, however, it is advisable to bank up the 



HARDENING AND TEMPERING 



75 



sides of a charcoal fire with smithing coal, as would be 
the case if the piece to be tempered were a long, large 
piece, so that the hood and stack are useful at times 
for carrying off smoke and gases. The tuyere D must 
be provided in every case. It is about eighteen inches 
long and six inches wide, and the whole top is drilled 





F^ ] 



Fig. 5. Side View of Oven. 

with ^-inch holes, about }i of an inch apart. The 
bottom of tuyere should be slanting as indicated in 
the sketch, to allow dirt to escape through the blow-off 
pipe F. 

The blow-off pipe has a cap screwed onto its lower 
end, which can be removed to clean out the tuyere. 



76 THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 

When femall tools are to be heated you can block off 
part of the tuyere by laying fire bricks at each end, 
giving by this means a narrow, short fire. The blast 
pipe E connects to the tuyere as shown. 

The size of a forge or oven can be governed by the 
size of the plant and the amount of tempering gen- 
erally done. It is a good plan to have quite a number 
of pieces on hand to be hardened before building a fire, 
as it takes only a short time to get the fire ready for 
business. 

A still simpler forge is the open forge in Fig. 6, the 
illustration of which is from a photograph of the 
forge used by the writer in hardening most of the 
tools shown in this book. The forge is made from 
part of an old boiler and has neither hood nor stack. 

Color Charts. — In the appendix will be found two 
charts to assist the smith in hardening and tempering. 
In the first chart, Fig. 1, will be seen colors to which 
different kinds of tools should be heated, and at which 
they should be dipped, for hardening. In determining 
the color of a heated tool it is better to have the room 
a little dark than very light. If the sun shines in or 
near the fire it is almost impossible to do justice to the 
tools. You should try to have about the same light 
at all times, which can be arranged by having shades 
on the window, if one is near. If the sun shines on 
tools in the fire they will be hotter than they appear to 
be by using the color chart as a guide, and if in the 
dark just the reverse will be true. 

The first chart is numbered from 1 to 11 and indi- 
cates as nearly as possible the temperature at which 



HARDENING AND TEMPERING 



77 



tools hardened by the methods described in this book 
should be dipped. It will alsoi serve in annealing tool 
steel. 

No. 2 on the first chart indicates the correct color 
for dipping springs. This color will also do for small 
wood-working tools. 




Fig. 6. Open Forge for Hardening and Tempering. 



No. 3 is suitable for cold chisels, punches, small 
dies, small twist drills, small taps, etc. 

No. 4 for larger taps and dies, larger punches, 
shears, large twist drills, etc. 

No. 5 for all lathe and planer tools for cutting 
wrought iron and for tools of a delicate nature for 



78 THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 

cutting machine steel, such as small boring tools, 
threading, centering and side tools and cutting-ofr" 
tools. 

No. 6 for lathe tools for cutting machine steel and 
for planer and shaper tools ; also for small shell 
reamers and pilots, broaches, etc. 

No. 7 for lathe tools for cutting tool steel, cast iron, 
malleable iron. etc. ; also for large hollow mills, large 
reamers and pilots of sizes over y 2 inch. 

No. 8 for finishing tools, or tools of different kinds 
for working brass castings ; also hand scrapers and 
drill jig bushings. 

No. 9 is the color at which tool steel should be 
worked. Steel heated to No. 9 forges easily and the 
smith should work lively until it cools to the heat 
indicated by No. 3 on the chart, and then reheat. 
When the tool is finished lay it down until it gets 
cool, when it can be reheated and hardened. 

No. 10 is a welding heat for tool steel. 

No. 11 is a welding heat for machine steel. 

Certain tools like the side tool, which have a thin 
cutting edge, will harden at a lower heat than a more 
blunt tool, such as a roughing tool. 

In case a tool has, by mistake, been heated too hot it 
is very wrong to swing it back and forth to cool it 
after it has been overheated. It is better to lay it 
down and let it cool off and then heat it over again. 

Nos. 1, 2, and 3 of the second chart run from dark- 
blue to purple ; Nos. 4, 5, and 6 from purple to straw : 
No. 7 is light straw and No. 8 very light straw, which 
is about as hard as it is safe to get any tool for 
working purposes. I have not paid much attention to 



HARDENING AND TEMPERING 79 

this kind of tempering for years, but it will be found 
convenient for beginners. 

No. 1 on the second chart shows the color of steel 
when it is drawn to as soft -a temper as can be used 
for tools. It is the color for springs and such tools 
as require a low temper, such as cold chisels and hand 
punches when used on soft machine steel. 

No. 2 is suitable for cold chisels when used for 
chipping cast iron; also for the wood-working tools 
such as carpenters' planes, chisels, etc. 

No. 3 for punches and dies used in punching thin 
metal in punch press work. 

No. 4 for punches and dies when used on heavy 
metal in punch prees work. 

No. 5 for all lathe and planer tools for cutting 
wrought iron and for tools of a delicate nature for 
cutting machine steel, such as small boring tools, 
threading, centering and side tools and cutting-off 
tools. 

No. 6 for lathe tools for cutting machine steel and 
for planer and shaper tools. 

No. 7 for lathe tools for cutting tool steel, cast iron, 
malleable iron, etc. 

No. 8 for finishing tools, or tools of different kinds 
for working brass castings ; also hand scrapers. 

Hardening Cold Chisels. — A cold chisel hardened 
in the usual way always comes back with the point 
bent up. The smith will generally heat about Y\ inch 
of the chisel on the end, then dip* about y% inch of the 
point in the water ; cool off entirely cold, then rub 
with a piece of grindstone or emery cloth. The color 



80 THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 

will run down rapidly. When it comes to a blue on 
the point he cools the whole chisel entirely cold and lets 
it go, thinking he has done pretty well. While a chisel 
tempered in this way is always too brittle on the 
extreme end, it will be too soft about y\ inch from the 
end, causing the end to bend up as stated. 

The way I treat cold chisels when I have a number 
of them to make is to forge them and let them cool off. 
After I have finished with the last one I begin again 
with the first one made, heating it slowly to No. 3 of 
the heat chart, for about 1*4 inches on the end, in the 
charcoal forge. I then dip the cutting end down 
slowly until the whole chisel is under water ; but be- 
fore it gets entirely cold I take it from the water and 
allow it to cool off on a bench or on the floor, as the 
case may be. If you cannot accomplish this at first, 
try it again. Once you get the required heat you will 
not forget it. In this as in all other cases salt water is 
to be used. 

Another good way to treat chisels of all kinds is to 
heat as above and dip for about one inch in the water ; 
take out and clean off, and let the color come slowly. 
If it comes too fast, check it a little by dipping in the 
water and taking out quickly ; and if it does not come 
at all, caused by not having heat enough behind it, 
hold it over the fire, being careful not to get the point 
or cutting end near the fire. Hold the body of the 
chisel over the fire, and the heat will drive up the color 
slowly. It will show a mixed purple and blue about one 
inch long. By laying it down and not putting it in the 
water again you will have a chisel which will give the 
best of satisfaction. 



HARDENING AND TEMPERING 



81 



Center Punches. — I have made center punches that 
were used on boiler work and were driven through solid 
boiler plate, thus forming a deep body of metal to be 
tapped out for bolts, and at the same time I found there 
were few smiths who could make these punches stand 
up for this class of work. A center punch should be 
made and tempered with the same care a cold chisel is. 




Fig. 7. 



Fig. 8. 



Lathe and Planer Tools. — Finishing tools require 
to be harder than roughing tools and should therefore 
be dipped at a little higher heat than the latter. It is 
necessary that roughing tools be tough as well as hard 
enough for the metal they are to be used on ; and the 
same is true of tools^ of a delicate character, such as 
threading and cutting-off tools. Also, tools should 
be a little harder for cutting tool steel and cast iron 
than for machine steel and still harder for brass. 

After forging a tool, let it cool off ; then reheat the 
cutting point to the correct temperature for the work 
to be done, as already explained, and dip in salt water. 



82 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



Remove from the water before entirely cold and allow 
it to cool off on the bench or floor. 

What is desired is to have the steel tough except at 
the cutting edge, where it must be hard enough to cut 
the metal that the tool is to be used upon. In reheating, 
therefore, heat the point of the tool only, as stated, and 
in dipping hold the cutting edge under the water as 
indicated in Figs. 7 and 8, where the first is a cutting- 
off tool and the second a side tool ; but do not immerse 




Fig. 9. 



the whole end of the tool, as this will harden the part 
directly back of the cutting point and make a brittle 
tool. 

If the body of the tool has been heated red hot 
through carelessness in reheating, it must, of course, 
be cooled off by dipping the whole tool ; but the re- 
sults will not be as good, since, if cooled off in the 
w r ater, it will make the tool brittle, and if taken out of 



HARDENING AND TEMPERING 



83 



the bath before it is cool, enough heat may still re- 
main in the steel to draw the temper of the cutting 
edge. In hardening tools, even of as simple a char- 
acter as lathe tools, the smith must have a clear under- 
standing of what' it is desired to accomplish and then 
exercise care in bringing about the result. 

Hardening Milling Cutters. — Have a tank or crock 
that will hold about 20 gallons. Fill with salt water 
in the proportion of about one half pint of common 
salt to the gallon of water. Also, there should be a 








1 








A 


i^J 






B 

,1 l \ 
I ' 1 l\ 














t__- 




°( 


! \ 




|\e 


iii > 

Hi / 

i ,i 1 1 / 

1-1. _K 




s 




i X. 

I \ 














\ 





Fig. 10. Hollow Mill on Stud for Hardening. 



second crock of the, same size about two thirds full of 
fish oil, with a sieve suspended by wire rods over the 
edge of the crock, Fig. 9, so it will hang about six 
inches from the bottom. 

Now if you are about to harden a hollow mill, as in 
Fig. 10, first have a steel stud turned up to fit the hole 
in the mill, and threaded on its outer end for the nut 
C. The other end B should be drilled and tapped out 
for a piece of half-inch pipe D, about 24 inches long, 
to be used to handle the mill with. The stud should 
also have two lugs or projections x to fit the slots in 



84 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



the end of the cutter. If the mill is to be heated in a 
furnace, no pipe handle will be required ; but a furnace 
will scale the mill badly and tend to crack it and I 
prefer a charcoal fire instead. 

Start a nice level fire in your oven or forge, place the 
mill on the charcoal and cover with charcoal lumps 
about the size of hens' eggs. Shut off the blast and 
let the mill heat. You will find it impossible to over- 
heat it in this way. When the mill is at a good bright 






Fig. 11. Formed Milling Cutter. 



heat, nearly as hot as the charcoal will heat it without 
the blast, take it out and dip it in the salt water crock. 
When the red is all gone and the vibration on the pipe 
is nearly gone, take the mill out of the water and put 
it in the crock containing the fish oil. Let it remain in 
the oil until it can be handled easily; then remove the 
nut and washer, take the mill off, put on another and 
repeat the operation. You can then send the mill into 
the tool room to be ground and put to work and it will 
do more work than if tempered in any other way that 
I am familiar with. This method hardens the outside 



HARDENING AND TEMPERING 85 

of the mill only, and if at any time it is wished to use 
the mill on a larger arbor it can be reamed out without 
annealing, as would have to be done if the tool were 
hardened all through. 

Hardening Formed Cutters. — A formed milling 
cutter shaped something like the one illustrated in 
Fig. 11 is a difficult tool to temper if done in the old 




Fig. 12. Formed Cutter. 

fashioned way of heating too hot, hardening too hard, 
and drawing back. Now if the utmost care is not taken 
this tool will be too hot at B, and not hot enough at 
A, and after hardening and cleaning up preparatory to 
drawing back, if it remains intact long enough, a bar 
of steel would be heated and put through cutter at C, 
and the color drawn in this way. The cutting edges 
at A, being nearest the hot bar, would naturally be- 



86 THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 

come soft before the cutting point or edges at B would 
be soft enough, B being the hottest when dipped and 
also the hardest when cold. You cannot obtain a 
uniform temper in a tool of this kind, when heated, 
hardened and drawn in this way. 

The cutter shown in Fig. 12 is one of many 
tools of this nature, tempered successfully by the 
writer in the following way : 

First arrange the cutter on a stud, as explained under 
the last heading, and cover with wood charcoal. Let 
it heat without much blast. If you use any blast in 
heating this tool you must roll the tool over once in a 
while, but if you let it heat with charcoal without the 
blast, the tool will heat uniformly, without any atten- 
tion other than watching. Now have the water very 
cold and salt the same according- to directions already 
given. When the tool becomes a clear red, not too 
dark a red, dip in the cold salt water. When the red 
has all disappeared and vibration on the pipe handle 
become less, remove to the oil and let it remain there 
until it is cold enough to handle with the bare hands. 
Now in dipping a tool of this kind or of any kind, do 
not move it sidewise, for by so doing you are entering 
cold water with one side of the tool and warm water is 
following up the other side, and you will be very apt to 
have a hard and soft side on a tool. 

We all know that warm water comes quickly to the 
top of bath. So when dipping a tool, start it down 
straight, and go slowly to the bottom of the tank, can, 
pail or crock — whatever you are using. This is the 
only possible way to get a uniform hardness. The 
milling cutter shown in the half-tone referred to was 



HARDENING AND TEMPERING 



$7 



used in milling tool steel pieces. It required 50 per 
cent less grinding than any standard tool bought in the 
market and used in the same department on the same 
grade of steel, but different shaped pieces. 

If about to adopt this method of hardening you will 
find it convenient to have a drip pan with sieve same 
as shown in Fig. 13. Have the pan a little higher at 
the end marked X, farthest from the oil tank A. 




Fig. 13. Drip Pan and Sieve. 



Then, when removing the pieces from the oil tank, 
place them in pan B. The oil will drip off and return 
to tank A through pipe e in the lower end of the pan. 
You will find this a very convenient and clean method. 
Hardening a Thin Cutter. — To harden a milling 
cutter about J /4 inch thick and 5 inches in diameter in 
a way to prevent warping and cracking, fix it as in 
Fig. 14, but in heating put on a little blast, instead of 



88 THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 

shutting it off, and turn the mill constantly until you 
get the proper low heat. Then dip as explained in con- 
nection with the treatment of the hollow mill, Fig. 10, 
and you will have a soft tool, except in the edge out- 
side of the washers EE. The same % -inch pipe will 
do> for any number of studs. If you have a mill or 
tool of any kind that you cannot use a stud in, stuff 
with asbestos. 

Additional matter upon the treatment of thin cutters 
will be found in Chapter V. 













B 

W 


E 




C 


\ 


— 


— 


— 


4 




Fig. 14. Hardening a Thin Cutter. 



The Treatment of Reamers. — In Fig. 15 appear a 
number of reamers just as they were taken from the 
oil. The longest one is 16 inches over all, with 12 
inches cutting edge. The others are from 4 to 8 
inches cutting edge. They were packed in charcoal 
inside of a 5-inch pipe, sealed up and put in a large 
casehardening furnace, and left there just one hour 
and twenty minutes. They were then taken out, one at 



HARDENING AND TEMPERING 



89 



a time, and dipped in cold salt water just long enough 
to harden the cutting edge ; then removed to oil and 
left there until cold. They came out straight, and 
give the best of satisfaction. 

Hardening by this method is known as "pack hard- 
ening" and more satisfactory results can many times 




Fig. 15. Reamers with Cutting Edges Ranging 
from 4 to 12 inches long. 



be secured in this way than by any other process, es- 
pecially in the case of large and delicate work re- 
quiring uniform heating without injury to the metal 
in the cutting part of the tool, through decarbonization, 
or to the cutting edges themselves through internal 
strains. This subject will receive more attention in 
Chapter V. 



90 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



If these reamers had been dipped in water at a much 
higher heat, and cooled off in the water, they would 
have sprung out of shape and would have had to be 
drawn back after cleaning them up. If you break a 
reamer or tool of any kind that has been hardened at 




Fig. 16. 2 1-4" and 1" Taps. 



a high heat, and compare the grain with a tool hard- 
ened as these reamers were, you will find the former 
is coarse grained and brittle, while the latter is tough 
and fine grained and will outlast anything hardened in 
the old fashioned way. Drawing to a color will not 
restore the grain but is liable to soften the edge and 



HARDENING AND TEMPERING 91 

leave the inside brittle and at the least strain the tool 
will snap off. 

Hardening Taps. — Of the two taps shown in Fig. 
16, one is a 2^4 -inch tap and the other is a one-inch 
tap. Both are of the same pitch — 12 threads per inch. 
The total lengths of holes tapped in cast iron by these 
two taps was 7,500 linear inches, or 625 feet, and they 
were in fairly good shape at the end of this service. 
They were used both in piece work and day work by 
inexperienced hands. The taps are soft enough to be 
machined anywhere except at the teeth. The one-inch 
tap is solid and if required could be drilled down 
through the center the entire length from the top to 
about % inch from the bottom. This makes the tool 
tough and allows it to spring ; and it will not snap off 
the way so many tools do that are hardened all the way 
through. The 2 l /\ -inch tap, being hollow, was ar- 
ranged the same as a hollow mill, with the stud, etc., 
but was dipped at a much lower heat. Both taps were 
kept in the salt water just long enough to harden the 
teeth and then put in oil and left there until cold. 

In Fig. IT is shown a 1*4 -inch pipe tap that, up to 
the time of photographing, had tapped 10,000 pieces of 
cast iron ^4 mc h thick, some of them being very hard ; 
in fact, some were so hard they had to be annealed in 
the furnace before they could be machined. This same 
tap had also tapped 10,000 pieces of malleable iron £4 
inch thick, all done on piece work. When photo- 
graphed this tap was as good as new. 

This tap was heated in a charcoal fire, very slowly, 
until the temperature corresponded to No. 4 on the heat 
chart. It was then dipped in cold salt water just long 



92 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



enough to harden the teeth, then thrown into the oil. 
It was allowed to stay there until cooled off, when it 
was returned to the machine shop and put to work on 
the pieces mentioned. 

Treatment of Punches and Dies. — The %6 _ i ncn 
punch and die shown in Fig. 18 have already punched 




Fig. 17. 1 1-4" Pipe Tap. 

100,000 holes in ^-inch machine steel. This is 
25,000 inches or a little over % of a mile of solid metal, 
and when photographed they were as good as new and 
looked as if they might punch forever. The only hard 
part of the die is the bright part around the hole shown 
in center of picture. The rest of the die is soft. It 



HARDENING AND TEMPERING 



93 



was put on a charcoal fire and covered up, with the 
blast shut off. When at a low red heat it was dipped 
face down in cold salt water and held there for a very 
short time ; then dropped into oil and left there until it 
was cold. The punch was treated in the same way. It 
was put in water up to its shoulder. The die and punch 
were both taken out of the oil and put in the punch 
press, and up to the time of photographing had been 




Fig. 18. 7-16" Punch and Die. 



at work nearly two years. Now, if these tools had 
been heated to a very high degree of heat and cooled 
off in water until cold, and then drawn back to a certain 
color, I do not think they would have given the satis- 
faction they have. I will admit it takes a little practice 
to become expert at the method of hardening described, 
but it can be accomplished with a little patience and 
care and once you make a success of it you will not 
want to use anv other method. 



94 THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 

Punches and dies, however, can be more success- 
fully treated by drawing back the temper than can 
many classes of tools. For instance, a quick and sure 
way to treat small punches and dies, where quite a few 
are to be hardened at once, is to pack them in charcoal 
and leather, equal parts, in a box or pipe. Put in the 
furnace and leave there until the box is a good bright 
red ; then dump in cold water. Finally clean the pieces 
and they will be ready to have the temper drawn. 

To draw back the punches, have a small sheet iron 
pan filled with sand, place it over the fire in the forge, 
and put the punches in the sand — this will result in the 
temper being drawn uniformly. The punches should 
be drawn to No. 4 on the temper chart. 

To draw back the dies they should be placed endwise 
on a hot plate of steel and left harder at the top than at 
the bottom — about No. 5 at the top and No. 4 at the 
bottom. 

Threading Die. — The No. 12 threading die shown 
in Fig. 19 has been in constant use for over two years 
up to time of photographing. It has threaded thou- 
sands of pieces of one-inch round cast iron parts, and 
like the other tools mentioned, is as good as new, and 
was never drawn to a color. It was heated in charcoal 
to heat indicated by No. 4 on the heat chart. A ma- 
chine steel cap (Fig. 20) was placed on each side of 
the die and then all three pieces held together in tongs, 
shown in Fig. 21, and dipped in the salt water just long 
enough to harden the teeth of the die, which were ex- 
posed to the water through the holes A, in the center 
of the caps. The die was then dropped in oil and al- 
lowed to remain until cold. It was then cleaned up 



HARDENING AND TEMPERING 



95 



and after being sawed apart on one side, as always 
done with dies of this type, was pnt to work. 

The machine steel caps keep the die soft with the 
exception of the teeth, which are exposed through the 
opening marked A. If the whole die had been hard- 
ened it would have been a difficult tool to draw back 
and make as good as this one is. 




Fig. 19. No. 12 Threading Die. 



Treatment of a Broach. — The 1^-inch broach, 
Fig. 22, has 204 teeth or separate cutting parts, and 
it is a very expensive tool to make. It was dipped at a 
low heat in salt water, and while the body of tool was 
still a little red it was thrown in oil and allowed to re- 
main there until it was cold. I have watched this tool 
at work and it has a hard task to perform broaching 
holes in machine steel forgings used in making 



96 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



wrenches. Holes are drilled in ^4-inch machine steel, 
hand and drop forgings. The holes are just large 




Fig. 20. Cap used in Hardening Threading Die. 




Fig. 21. Tongs used for Holding Threading Die. 



enough for the small end of the broach to enter. The 
broach is then pressed down through with a large 



HARDENING AND TEMPERING 



97 



arbor press. It has been used by men who never 
worked in a shop before. I am certain from what I 
have seen that if the broach had not been soft (all 
but the teeth or cutting parts) they would have broken 
one on every wrench. 
This broach, when photo- 
graphed, had been in use 
for two years and it was 
as good as new. 

Shear Blades. — In Fig. 

23 is shown a pair of 
shears for cutting off 
round steel in sizes from 
}£ inch to % inch. They 
have cut drill rod, tool 
steel, machine steel, cold 
rolled steel, and any pieces 
that came along for two 
years up to the time of 
photographing, and were 
still in good condition. 
They were hardened simi- 
lar to the punch and die 
mentioned. Also in Fig. 

24 is a pair of long shears, 
15 inches long, used for 
shearing heavy angle iron. 
These shears were in use 
the same length of time 
as the other tools men- 
tioned, and they look none the worse for having 
sheared thousands of pieces of angle iron from Y\ inch 




Fig. 22. 1 1-8" Broach 
with 204 Teeth. 



98 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



to y§ inch thick. They are quite soft the entire length 
tip to within half an inch of the cutting edge. The 
shears were dipped at a low heat in salt water, and 




Fig. 23. Shears for Cutting Round Stock. 



■ ' : 


— -— — ' /f\ 



Fig. 24. IS" Shear Blades. 



while all but the cutting part or face of shears was 
still red they were put into oil and remained there until 



HARDENING AND TEMPERING 



99 



they were cold. They came out straight and hard 
enough to give the best satisfaction of any tools of their 
kind I have ever seen in all my shop experience. 

Hardening Large Rolls. — In Fig. 25 is shown how 
to arrange a steel roll that must be treated so as to be 
very hard on the outside, and that needs to be hardened 
on the outside only. The roll A is placed upon a center 
stud between two washers BB. C is a shoulder on the 
stud against which the washers and the roll are clamped 




Fig. 25. Large Roll Arranged for Hardening. 

by the nut D. The diameter of the roll should be %6 
inch larger than the diameter of the stud, and the 
washers must fit tightly against the faces of the roll. 
A pipe can be screwed into the end of the stud to 
handle the work with. 

If the roll is a large one, the best way to harden it 
is to pack in charcoal and put in a furnace ; but if you 
have no box large enough to pack the roll in, or if you 
have no furnace, just make a large fire with charcoal 
in your forge, cover the roll entirely over, and let it 



100 THE BLACKSMITHS GUIDE 

heat with the coal. When red, uncover a small part 
of the roll on top, sprinkle cyanide on it and then cover 
over with coal again and in about five minutes sprinkle 
on more cyanide. The cyanide melts when it touches 
the hot roll and will run all the way around the roll. 
So it is not necessary to uncover the whole roll in 
applying the cyanide. Care should be taken not to heat 
the roll to the point where it will begin to scale — a 
universal rule in the treatment of tool steel. 

After the cyanide has been applied the second time, 
take out the roll and dip in cold salt water. Nothing 
smaller than a 40-gallon barrel should be used, if you 
have no regular tank. Do not cool off the roll in the 
water, but remove before it is cold and put in a tank 
of oil where it should remain until entirely cold. If a 
water hose is at hand, it would be well to use it to help 
chill the roll, but have plenty of salt in the water. 

Tempering Springs. — No. 2 on heat chart is about 
the right heat at which to dip springs. They should 
be dipped in fish oil until cold and the oil burned off; 
then dipped in oil again, taken out and laid down to 
cool off. If you get the right heat, this is all you have 
to do to be a good spring temperer. If I thought that 
explaining here how spring steel is made and how it 
differs from tool steel would help out in temper- 
ing, I would do so ; but I fail to see how it would, and 
the same can be said about heating to so many degrees, 
Fahrenheit. There are books giving this information 
which are very useful in their place, but if a spring 
is brought in for the blacksmith to temper, and he 
does as I have stated, he will have a position longer 
than he will by starting out to find the percentage of 



HARDENING AND TEMPERING 101 

carbon in the steel, and other points that properly 
concern the scientist. 

Drill Jig Bushings. — Heat to a temperature cor- 
responding to No. 8 of the heat chart. Dip in salt 
water and take out and throw in the oil tank. If the 
bushing is very light and thin in body, you will want 
to dip in water and take out quickly and throw in the 
oil, hot. If it is a large bushing, let the red all dis- 
appear before throwing in the oil. I have hardened 
thousands of drill jig bushings and have never cracked 
one or known of one being cut by the drill ; and 
yet I have seen tool men harden bushings for drill jigs, 
clean them up, polish, and draw back to a nice color, 
and look wise, although they were continually getting 
the bushings too soft. Next time they would heat 
them a little hotter and finally crack a lot of them. 
They would then blame the steel. Whether they did 
not know or were careless I cannot say ; but I do know 
it was an expensive, time-wasting practice. 

Tempering a Hammer Head. — In tempering a 
hammer you will notice that the outside of the face is 
generally hard and will chip off, while the center is 
soft. You can overcome this by tempering as shown 
in Fig. 26. Pour a small stream of water directly on 
the center of the face of the hammer, and the whole 
face will be of uniform temper. An old teapot will an- 
swer nicely for the purpose. 

Tempering Fine Steel Points. — If tempering a pair 
of divider points, or any small sharp tool, heat to a low 
heat and cool off in a cake of common brown or yel- 
low soap. 



102 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



Shrinkage and Expansion. — The shrinkage and 
expansion of dies, rings, etc., that occurs when dipping 
has been the cause of a great deal of trouble and won- 
derment in nearly all shops and I never knew any one 
who' could explain why one ring would shrink while 
another ring of the same material would expand. In 




Fig. 26. 



my experience the trouble is caused by one side of the 
ring chilling sooner than the other side. This may 
seem like too simple an explanation, but try it out and 
see for yourself. 

To prevent expansion in a die or ring when dipping, 
have some asbestos paste on hand and when the die or 
ring is at the right heat to dip, cover the inside of the 



HARDENING AND TEMPERING 103 

ring with the paste. This will make the ring contract 
and become smaller. If, on the other hand, you put 
paste on the outside of the ring, it will expand. 

Annealing. — When annealing a piece of tool steel 
it should not be heated to a temperature higher than 
indicated by No. 2 on the heat chart. It should be 
heated slowly, and if in a hurry for the work hold the 
tool in a dark place and note when the red color has 
left it entirely; then quench in clear water. If not in 
a hurry, place the steel on a dry spot and cover with a 
box or anything that will not burn, but will keep out 
the air, until the steel is cooled, when it will be the 
color of No. 1 on the temper chart, with a slight scale 
which will rub off with the hands. This is about the 
best and quickest way to anneal. 

Another way is to heat the steel to No. 2 and put it 
in lime. Still another way is to pack the steel in char- 
coal, heat to No. 3 and let the piece cool off in charcoal. 
Never put tool steel in a fire of any kind and let it re- 
main over night, as that is the worst treatment tool 
steel can have. For instance, if a chilled casting is 
placed in a furnace and removed as soon as it is red 
hot, and allowed to cool, it will still retain its chilled 
form. But let it remain in the furnace several hours or 
all night, and all trace of the chill will be gone when 
it is cool and the iron will be nothing more than com- 
mon gray cast iron. If this treatment affects cast iron 
in the way I have just explained, what can we expect 
will be the result if we treat fine cast steel the same 
way? It is foolish to think that the higher a piece of 
tool steel is heated the softer it will be when cooled off, 
even though it is cooled slowly. A rolled or hammered 



104 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



bar is always softer than the bar it was made from. 
This ought to prove what I claim in regard to an- 
nealing. If you are not careful in annealing, there is 
no use being careful about tempering ; for, if you spoil 
a piece of steel in annealing you cannot expect a good 
tool from it, no matter how you temper it. To get the 
best results, heat slowly and uniformly in a charcoal 
fire to color No. 2 and all the way through, and get it 





Fig. 27. 



out of the fire as soon as you can. (Do not think I am 
advertising charcoal as I think there is nothing to hin- 
der any one from making his own charcoal.) 

If a very thin piece is to be annealed heat to No. 2 
and place between two pieces of dry pine board and 
put a weight on top. When the piece is taken out it 
will be very soft and also straight. 

If you have a tool that will not harden on all sides 
alike, but will harden only about two thirds of the way 
around, you will probably find that all the annealed 



HARDENING AND TEMPERING 105 

portion was not removed from the bar that the tool 
was made from. A round mill 2% inches in diameter 
should be made from 3% -inch round steel and in all 
similar cases there should be % inch of metal taken 
from the surface of the bar if the tool is going to be 
hardened. Sometimes the bar will be carelessly cen- 
tered as in Fig. 27, leaving the annealed portion on 
side of the bar. The lower view shows the correct 
way to center a bar to make a tool for hardening. 

General Directions for Hardening. — In bringing 
this part of the chapter to a close I wish to state 
that you should never harden a tool of any kind in 
clear water. Always put in plenty of salt and see that 
it is well dissolved. To convince yourself, take two 
tools made from the same bar and harden at the same 
heat, one in clear water and the other in salt water 
and note the result. The tool hardened in the clear 
water will generally crack and pieces will fly off of the 
cutting edges, while the tool hardened in the salt 
water will not crack, even if left in the water until it 
is perfectly cold. Neither should you put oil on top of 
water and attempt to harden a tool by putting it 
through the oil into the water. If the reverse of this 
were possible and we could have the cold salt water on 
top of the oil, and then dip the tool just hot enough to 
harden for the class of work required of it down 
through the cold salt water into the oil, this would be 
a grand success ; but such being impossible, we must do 
the next best thing, that is, remove the tool from the 
water and put into the separate tank of fish oil to cool. 

A piece to be hardened should be heated slowly and 
uniformly in a charcoal fire to the correct color for 



106 THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 

hardening, taking care not to overheat the piece, as 
that injures the grain of the steel, — injuries that can- 
not be repaired by drawing back the temper. The piece 
should then be dipped in salt water, but held there only 
long enough to harden the cutting edges, after which 
the tool should be allowed to cool in oil. The oil 
permits the body of the tool to cool slowly, so that it 
will be tough and comparatively soft when cold, and 
at the same time keeps the cutting edges cool so that 
their tempers will not be destroyed during the cooling 
process. In the case of hollow tools washers or caps 
should be used, as already described, to prevent the 
inner surfaces from hardening when dipped in the salt 
water to harden the cutting edges. Tools heated in 
this way not only give the best of service, but will not 
warp and crack. 



CHAPTER IV. 

HIGH-SPEED STEEL. 

There are marry different makes of high-speed steel, 
each having a different name and each one is 
claimed by its maker to be a little better than the 
others. I have had experience with nearly all kinds 
and makes since they were introduced and will try to 
explain as clearly as possible how to handle these 
steels. 

The peculiarities of high-speed steel are that it must 
be heated to a very much higher temperature than the 
ordinary carbon steels in the process of hardening and 
that it withstands a much higher temperature when 
cutting metal and consequently allows a greatly in- 
creased cutting speed. Certain chemical elements are 
introduced in these steels which unite with the carbon 
in the steel and produce carbides of great hardness and 
durability at high temperatures. 

The first steels of this character were the self-hard- 
ening varieties, such as Mushet steel, but within a few 
years have come the air-hardening and oil-hardening 
high-speed steels, which are capable of a very much 
greater output of work than any steel previously made. 

To Distinguish High-speed Steel from ordinary 
carbon or tool steel, hold a piece of the steel on an 
emery wheel and note the color of the sparks. High- 
speed steel produces red sparks, while tool steel and 
machine steel produce white sparks. 



108 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



Cutting Off High-Speed Steel. — High-speed and 
self-hardening steels should be heated to a cherry red 
if not annealed and nicked around as at A in No. 3, 
Fig. 1, and broken while hot. If the bars are not too 
large the smith can nick them on the hardy and by 
using a tool such as B, Fig. 1, can easily break the 
pieces off. The bar to be broken should be so placed 
in the tool that the nicked part will rest on edge C, 




No.3 



Fig. 1. Cutting off Steel. 

which should be tempered. By holding up tight on end 
D, and striking a blow at E the piece will fall off. 
Small bars of high speed steel are sometimes nicked 
around on the edge of an emery wheel preparatory to 
breaking. This is a clumsy method, but does well in 
some cases. 

Small stock, such, as *4, % 6 , and }i inch square, 
which is used in tool holders, can be nicked and broken 
cold, but the smith should use a file to test the steel 
that is brought to him to make sure that it is annealed 
before he attempts to nick it with the hardy or cold 
chisel. Air-hardening and Mushet steels are seldom 



HIGH-SPEED STEEL 109 

if ever annealed when purchased and if one tries to 
nick them cold, before annealing, pieces are liable to 
fly from the chisel or hardy and injure someone — 
most likely the smith himself. 

By the use of the tool shown in Fig. 1, pieces can 
be broken off from small bars as rapidly as the smith 
can handle the bar. In shops where these pieces are 
used in tool holders it is a good plan to take a bar, or 
even two or three bars of annealed high-speed steel, 
mark off the desired lengths, nick around as stated, 
and break. The smith can not only do a faster job, 
but a better job of hardening where there are a hundred 
or so pieces of steel to harden than where he is 
bothered with one piece at a time at half-hour intervals. 

Treating Self-hardening Steel. — Self-hardening 
steel should be worked or forged at a cherry heat and it 
has to be clipped to shape more than any other steel, as 
it is very brittle, even when hot. After forging and 
grinding to shape it should be reheated to a cherry red 
and let cool in the open air. 

Forging High-Speed Steel. — This steel should 
be heated slowly and carefully, and kept well covered 
in a fire with a good solid bottom, blacksmithing coke 
being used for fuel. It should be worked at a very 
high heat, with heavy, rapid blows, and should never 
be hammered when below a cherry red. When it 
reaches this point it should be reheated. Always ac- 
complish as much as possible at each heat. 

A tool of any desired shape can be forged from air- 
hardening steel if properly heated and worked and 
the same applies to oil-hardening steel. In fact, all 
high-speed steels except self-hardening or Mushet 



110 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



should be heated and forged in the same manner. 
After forging to shape the tool should cool off slowly 
and then it is ready for hardening. 




Fig. 2. Device for Air Hardening. 

Device for Air Hardening. — Compressed air under 
the pressure usually carried is not a good thing to use 
for air-hardening tools. A milder blast, well dis- 
tributed over the tools is more satisfactory and nothing 
that the writer has seen can equal the following ar- 
rangement for air hardening : 

Tap the pipe that furnishes the blast to the forge 



HIGH-SPEED STEEL 111 

for a ^4-inch gas pipe and connect with this a funnel 
made from light sheet iron as shown in Fig. 2, where 
A is the funnel, D is the connecting pipe to funnel 
and £ is a valve to shut off the blast when no hard- 
ening is being done. The funnel should be about 12 
inches diameter at the top and about 1% inches at the 
bottom and the bottom should be covered with a fine 
mesh sieve to prevent small tools from dropping into 
the supply pipe. Tools to be hardened are placed in 
the funnel as shown at F, with the cutting point at 
about the center of the sieve. 

Heating for Hardening. — In reheating a tool for 
hardening, after it has been forged and allowed to 
cool off, it should be treated on the point only, and in 
a charcoal fire. It should be heated about as hot as a 
charcoal fire will make it, or until the point begins to 
flow ; but it is not necessary to. burn the point and 
blister it as some do. The latter is liable to happen if 
blacksmithing coal is used instead of charcoal. If 
the tool is heated back very far from the point, it is 
liable to break when tightened in the tool post. 

In heating the tool it should be protected from the 
blast from below and the air above and should be re- 
heated slowly at first to make sure that the steel is 
brought to a uniform temperature throughout. Then 
put on a little more blast and bring to a flowing heat 
quickly. Do not take the tool out of the fire and look 
at it and replace it a number of times. This is bad 
practice. 

When the desired heat is obtained, quickly remove 
from the fire and place in the funnel with the air supply 
opened, as already explained. 



112 THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 

If the steel is overheated the air will cause the steel 
to burn instead of cooling it off. For your own satis- 
faction disconnect the valve from the pipe below the 
funnel, so as to get a direct air blast, and heat a piece 
of %-inch round high-speed steel about four inches 
from the end, until it is very hot, — dazzling white heat. 
Place the steel in the blast near the end of the pipe and 
note the result. If the steel is hot enough the air will 
cause it to burn apart. You will see from this what 
injury may be clone to a lathe or planer tool, or. any 
high-speed tool steel, if heated too hot. 

Hardening with Cyanide. — Many high-speed 
steels are treated as follows : Heat the point to a yel- 
low and dip in cyanide ; then replace in fire and heat 
very hot and drop in a tank of kerosene oil. Sometimes, 
also, the steel is hardened by heating very hot and 
dropping in oil, without using the cyanide. All manu- 
facturers furnish directions for treating their special 
brands of steel, which will indicate to the smith what 
special methods will need to be followed in any par- 
ticular case. 

Hardening Milling Cutters and other Expensive 
Tools. — For heating high-speed milling cutters and 
other similar tools having delicate cutting edges, about 
the best arrangement is a furnace built on the order 
of the one in Fig. 3, in which the two lower views are 
the front and side elevation and the upper views show 
details. To construct the furnace, make a founda- 
tion A from cast iron of the required size. Then take 
two pieces of boiler plate y 2 inch thick and bend like 
B and rivet to the top of the foundation. The tuyere 
E is made of cast iron or light boiler plate. There 



HIGH-SPEED STEEL 



113 




Q I 



J3 
to 



to 



114 THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 

should be an oblong hole through the top of the 
foundation to let the tuyere through and allow it to 
rest on the flanges F. The tuyere must have a hole in 
one end for the blast and an outlet through a nipple 
at the bottom for the cleanout. A cap screwed on the 
end of the nipple closes the cleanout when not in use. 
By removing the cap and opening H in blast pipe the 
dirt will be blown out onto the floor. The tuyere 
should be drilled with ^-inch holes on top for the 
blast. 

Now the most important feature of this forge is the 
two funnels D extending through the sides of the 
furnace to the outside edges of the tuyere. They 
should be of the same length as the tuyere, about 
eight inches wide at the top and four inches at the 
bottom. Their purpose is to feed fuel to the bottom 
of the fire when heating work to be hardened without 
disturbing the fire and causing air to reach the tool 
being heated. After getting the funnels in place, the 
furnace must be lined about four inches deep with 
Portland cement and sand, mixed in equal parts, leav- 
ing the lower ends of the funnels open. In the illustra- 
tion M shows the cement lining. 

A light steel frame should be made to hold the fire- 
brick cover N together. This cover can be removed 
at any time desired. A back O is made from boiler 
plate with hole for stack P to connect with the chimney 
or down draught, as the case may be. 

A door Q should be provided for the front with 
opening R large enough to allow large tools to be 
passed through. 



HIGH-SPEED STEEL 115 

After building the fire in the furnace cover the tool 
over with coke or wood charcoal, replace the door, and 
supply the rest of the fuel through the funnels on the 
side, which feed the bottom of the fire. With this 
arrangement you will not have to turn the tool very 
much and it will heat uniformly. Do not use hard 
coke, as it will injure the fine edges of the cutters. 
If you use charcoal, put on a good lively blast, as you 
cannot overheat the tool. Harden by dipping in a 
tank of fish oil. If there is much of this work to be 
done the oil should be kept cool by setting the oil tank 
in a tank of running water. 

If thin milling cutters, y 2 inch thick or less and 
four or five inches in diameter, have been made from 
high-speed steel and are to be hardened, it would be 
advisable to use the stud arrangement shown in Fig. 
14, Chapter III. Put on a good blast, turn cutters con- 
stantly and when hot enough dip in fish oil. I have 
hardened cutters of this kind in this way and they did 
20 per cent more work without grinding than the 
same kind of tools that came already hardened from 
the makers of the steel. With a little practice the 
smith can become expert in handling high-speed steel ; 
in fact it is not so easily ruined as high-carbon tool 
steel. 

Hardening long Blades. — Fig. -I shows how long, 
thin, narrow, high-speed steel blades may be hardened 
successfully without cracking or warping. (You can 
harden them to a certain extent in oil, one at a time, 
but not hard enough to be satisfactory.) Make three 
clamps, as shown in Fig. 4. Put one on each end 
and one in the center of the blades as shown in Nos. 



116 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



1, 2, and 3. The clamps can be made wide enough to 
hold ten or more blades, which should fit tight in the 
bottom part C. The top part of clamp A should bind 
on edge of the blades and be tightened with cap screw 
B. Pack in fine wood charcoal, using a piece of gas 



b-Z-C-J 



! ! a 



No.1 













B 


















































































































B 













No.2 



T1 



3 



m 



m 



k:-:i 



No. 3 
Fig. 4. Device used in Hardening Blades of High-speed Steel. 



pipe large enough for the purpose, and plug both ends 
with asbestos cement. Then place in the oven and 
heat to a very high heat, almost lemon. They should 
remain in the oven two hours, then take out and dip 
endwise in hot salt water that you can just hold your 
hand in; dissolve one pint of salt to a pail of water. 



HIGH-SPEED STEEL 117 

Keep the blades in the water until as cool as warm 
water will make them, then remove to oil and leave 
until cold. You will find on taking them out they will 
be very hard and also straight. Water drawn from the 
boiler is very good for this purpose. It is better than 
water drawn cold and heated with a hot iron as 
usually is done in blacksmith shops. 

Annealing High-speed Steel. — One of the most 
successful methods for annealing high-speed steel with- 
out lessening its hardening qualities afterward is to 
pack the tools to be annealed in fine charcoal and heat 
to a cherry red in the furnace and keep in the furnace 
for two hours after the box becomes red. Then re- 
move the box from the furnace and place in a dry 
place to cool off. The cover should be sealed air tight, 
as the tools must be kept from the air while hot. You 
can also put high-speed steel tools in the forge and 
cover with charcoal, leaving over night. This will 
soften the steel and put it in shape for machining. A 
furnace suitable for annealing is described in the next 
chapter. 



CHAPTER V. 
CASEHARDENING AND COLORING. 

Processes in which a Furnace is Required. 

While the charcoal forge affords a convenient and 
an effective means for heating work of the character 
already described, a furnace in which a uniform heat 
can be maintained through a long period of time will 
be found necessary for hardening some tool steel parts 
and for casehardening and coloring, where much of 
such work is to be done. 

The Furnace. — In Fig. 1 is a view of such a fur- 
nace, designed to burn hard coal, which is economical 
to build and operate and gives very satisfactory re- 
sults. In the appendix are sheets containing com- 
plete working drawings of the furnace. Many small 
concerns could build a furnace like this and harden all 
the machine steel parts necessary in the construction of 
their machinery and tools. The furnace can be built 
from common brick and firebrick, without the use of 
any large tile, and is adapted for mottling and color- 
ing, as well as casehardening and pack hardening. In 
the front view of the furnace in the appendix, the left- 
hand door is for firing and the right-hand door for 
placing and removing work. Below are the ashpit 
and flue openings, covered with sheet iron caps, for 
cleaning out. The blast pipe (No. 5) is at the left. 

The second view is a cross section. Here A is the 
firebox, B the bridge wall, C the bottom of the oven on 
which the work is placed, and E E and F flues for car- 
rying off the waste gases. These flues are so arranged 



CASEHARDENING AND COLORING 



119 



that the gases circulate all around under the bottom of 
the oven before passing to the bottom flue F which car- 
ries them to the stack. The gases have to pass through 
a single opening in order to reach the lower flue, and 
this opening is controlled by a damper. 




Fig. 1. Furnace for Casehardening, Pack Hardening, etc. 



The longitudinal section, Fig. 3 in the appendix, 
shows the flues and damper, and their arrangement, 
very clearly. 

The last view, which is a sectional plan, further 
shows the arrangement of the firebox and oven. It will 
be noted that there are four square openings, one at 
each corner of the oven, through which the gases pass 



120 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



down to the flues underneath ; while the passage from 
these latter flues to the flue leading to the stack is at 
the center, controlled by the damper, thus giving the 
best possible heating effect. 

The following is a numbered list of the most essential 
parts of the furnace : 

1 — Cast-iron buck stays. 

2 — ^-inch stay bolts. 

3 — Door frame 1% inches by Ya inch iron. 

4 — Sheet iron caps for flues. 

5 — Blast pipe, 1^-inch gas pipe, slotted. 

6 — Damper. 

7 — Damper support. 

8 — Cast-iron grate. 

9 — Grate support. 
10— Blast shut off. 
11— Stack. 




Fig. 2. Box for Packing Pieces for Casehardening. 



Packing for Casehardening. — In packing machine 
steel pieces for casehardening in a furnace, we should 



CASEHARDENING AND COLORING 121 

have boxes of various sizes and also an assortment of 
gas pipe of different lengths and sizes. The pipe 
should have a plug riveted in one end, the other end to 
he plugged with asbestos cement after the pieces have 
been placed in the pipe. Boxes of cast iron are the 
best to use, as boiler plate is expensive and gets out of 
shape quicker than cast iron. The cast iron box 
becomes malleable after using it a few times. 

Fig. 2 shows a fair sample of a box for ordinary 
casehardening. It should have three bosses A on each 
side and fork B should be made to pass through be- 
tween the bosses and fit to the side of the box. The 
fork should have a handle C made from round steel, 
with a hand hold on the end. There should be differ- 
ent sized forks for different sized boxes, and the boxes 
should have a web E at the bottom, the entire length on 
each side. This allows heat to pass under the box, 
whereby a more uniform heat can be obtained. After 
the parts to be hardened are packed in the box the lid 
should be put on and sealed along edges D, with as- 
bestos cement moistened to make a paste. 

Directions for Casehardening. — Raw bone is gen- 
erally used in hardening machine steel parts. There 
are different grades of granulated raw bone, Nos. 1, 
2, 3 and 4. No. 1 is the best. No. 4 is a grade generally 
purchased for poultry food and is not so well adapted 
for casehardening. One part raw bone and five parts 
fine wood charcoal makes an excellent mixture for 
casehardening. Raw bone can be dried and used the 
second time by mixing new bone with it, about equal 
parts. Bone black is also used and gives good results. 

The depth of carbonizing is determined by the length 



122 THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 

of time the boxes are left in the furnace, the time 
ranging from three to 12 hours. 

If a very fine grain is desired, the boxes should be 
left in the furnace for about six hours after becoming 
a very bright red, and then set out to cool without 
removing the lid, as by this means the parts will con- 
tinue to carbonize until nearly cold, When cold, the 
parts to be hardened should be placed in the box 
without any mixture and reheated to a bright red and 
dumped into cold water. This second heating without 
any packing increases the depth of the hardening. 

Sometimes work is required to be soft on some parts 
and hard on others, as would be the case with a hub 
sprocket. This result can be obtained by packing fine, 
dry sand around the parts to be left soft. If the pieces 
are so shaped as to make it impossible to pack dry 
sand around the parts to be left soft, make a paste 
from ordinary clay and cover the parts enough to pro- 
tect them from the carbonizing mixture. 

Tank for Casehardening Work. — The best kind of 
a tank for receiving work from the casehardening fur- 
nace is shown in Fig. 3. In taking the boxes from the 
furnace set them on the steel plate A, supported by the 
braces E. Remove the cover from the box and dump 
contents on sieve B. The bone, or whatever the work 
is packed in, falls through the sieve to the bottom of 
tank X, while the parts to be hardened roll into the 
water at C. Another sieve is suspended in the water 
by small steel rods. After the work is all dumped this 
inner sieve can be drawn up and the hardened pieces 
taken off, clean, ready to be delivered to the department 
they are intended for. This is much better than dump- 



CASEHARDENING AND COLORING 123 







124 THE BLA CKSM1 TH'S G VIDE 

ing the whole contents of the box into one opening and 
having to sort out the parts afterwards. It is also 
better because dumping the contents together into the 
water tank retards the hardening, since the water can- 
not then reach the work directly. 

Several sieves can be provided, with different 
meshes ; the coarse ones for heavy work and the finer 
ones for small work, which avoids letting the small 
work drop through the sieve into the part of the tank 
intended for the bone only. Another good feature is 
that the bone can be taken from tank X and dried, to 
be used again for mottling and coloring work, as de- 
scribed elsewhere in the book. 

In Fig. 3 F is the inlet for water ; G the overflow ; 
H the outlet for cleaning the tank, which should be 
done once a week. There should be a steady flow of 
water at all times when dumping. The air connection 
to the supply pipe is for use in mottling and coloring 
as will be explained later, 

A tank of this kind is shown in Fig. 1 in connection 
with the furnace there illustrated. This was made of 
pine plank covered with sheet iron inside and outside, 
and let into the ground about 12 inches, having 2-i 
inches above the ground, thus making a large body of 
water to dump the work into. Light boiler plate could 
also be used for making the tank. 

Tools from Machine Steel. — Bending and forming 
dies for punch press work, if made from machine 
steel, can be carbonized and hardened and will give 
better satisfaction than tool steel because they are 
hard onlv on the outside and not so liable to break. 



CASEHARDENING AND COLORING 125 

Another advantage in using machine steel is because 
it is cheaper and is much easier to machine in the tool 
room. 

Pack Hardening. — Casehardening is used for ma- 
chine steel parts, while a similar process for tool steel 
parts is called pack hardening. In Chapter III. refer- 
ence was made to this process in connection with the 
subject of reamers. Heating tools for hardening in 
gas furnaces, or any open furnace, without packing, 
oxidizes and decarbonizes the steel, thus making it 
almost impossible to obtain a uniform hardness. Lead 
baths have their disadvantages, as already explained. 
By packing in fine charcoal, however, heating in the 
furnace and dipping in salt water, in accordance with 
the instructions given, satisfactory results will be se- 
cured. If you pack in raw bone, you will get too much 
carbon in the cutting parts, thereby making the tool 
brittle. Charcoal alone for heating and salt water for 
dipping has been worked out to the writer's satis- 
faction. 

Pack Hardening Long Pieces. — Pieces that are too 
long to heat in a charcoal forge, shown elsewhere in 
the book, should be packed in fine charcoal, using a 
box similar to that shown in No. 2, Fig. 4. It should 
have a cover, and after the work to be hardened is 
packed in the box, the cover should be sealed. The 
box should be long enough to let the pieces clear about 
1J/2 inches at each end. If using a furnace and firing 
with hard coal, and if the furnace is at normal heat 
inside, place the box in the furnace and leave for 
about one hour, or a little more ; perhaps 1^ hours. 



126 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



When taking from the box to dip, use two pairs of 
tongs, if the piece is 24 inches long or over. Have a 
pair of tongs in each hand, grasp about six inches 
from each end, and when putting the piece in cold 
salt water be sure to put it in quickly and let it go 
straight down, then come up slowly. If the red has 
disappeared, remove to the oil tank to draw back, and 
you will have a tool that will give satisfaction. 



No.1 





No. 3 



Fig. 4. Boxes for Pack Hardening. 



Box No. 1 in Fig. 4 is another type suitable for 
pack hardening. With this, however, it is necessary to 
shove the work to be hardened in at end A. When the 
pieces are ready to take out, you have to take hold of 
the end and draw the entire piece out of the box. 
Before getting hold with another pair of tongs, this 
operation is almost certain to bend the piece, causing it 



CASEHARDENING AND COLORING 127 

to warp when put in the water. If you have no box 
like No. 2, use a piece of pipe as shown in No. 3, 
Fig. 4. Rivet a plug in one end, and after the parts 
to be hardened are packed in, plug the other end with 
asbestos cement. 

A pipe has the advantage over any box for heating 
tool steel for hardening, because if it is not 
heating evenly you can roll the pipe bottom side up, 
thus obtaining the desired result ; but it is no better than 
box No. 1 for getting long pieces out of, and for this 
reason alone box No. 2 is better than either of the 
others. 

In packing tool steel pieces to be hardened, use 
nothing but fine wood charcoal. If any raw bone is 
used it will render the parts brittle. Try the charcoal 
alone and note results and the amount of hard work 
the pieces will stand. 

Testing Work. — A good way for a beginner to 
know when the work in boxes is hot enough is to put 
a few ^4 -inch rods through holes in boxes or pipe, and 
draw one out after the box has become red ; if the rod 
is dark, return it to the box, so as to prevent the car- 
bon escaping, and after a while draw another rod — 
not the one drawn first. If the second one drawn is 
red, cool quickly and break. If this is tried out by the 
workman on this class of work he will soon become 
expert enough to gauge his heat without the rods. 
This method is advisable both in casehardening and in 
pack hardening, more so in the latter, as in the former 
process the work is generally left in the furnace long 
enough to insure a good, uniform heat. 



128 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



Pack Hardening Thin Cutters. — In a shop where 
a quantity of cutters is to be hardened, they should be 
arranged as in Fig. 5. This shows ten milling cutters 
on one stud, with a washer on each end, small enough 
in diameter to allow the cutters to harden well below 
the bottoms of the teeth, and at the same time large 









^jjS&l 




C% 


i '^yMB?**-''- 




HPft \ 


mjimr- 
- \.. A ...A 




IB 




' . ; 1 





Fig. 5. Cutters Treated by Pack Hardening. 



enough to prevent warping or cracking. The cutters 
shown vary in diameter from three inches to \]/i 
inches and have 3/2 -inch cutting face. Thin cutters of 
%6-inch face and upwards, should be hardened in this 
manner, as it does away with any possible warping 
and gives a uniform hardness. 

Fig. 6 shows the stud, washers and nut before the 
cutters are put on for packing. Just enough of the 
stud should be left at the large end to take hold of 



CASEHARDENING AND COLORING 129 

with the tongs. The cutters should be put on and the 
nut tightened as tight as possible. Then pack in a pipe 
laree enough to allow Vz-inch clearance between the 
teeth and inside of pipe, pack in fine wood charcoal, 
seal the ends of pipe with asbestos cement and heat in 
the furnace. The time required in the furnace is from 
one to two hours. If the furnace is at normal heat 
when the work is put in one hour will do. If no fur- 
nace is at hand, then place the pipe over a large forge 
and cover with coal or hard coke. If the pipe is not 




Fig. 6. Arbor used with Cutters. 

heating uniformly, roll it over. This is where the pipe 
has the advantage over the box for pack hardening. 
The cutters shown here were dipped at a bright red in 
cold salt water and while still quite warm were re- 
moved to a tank of fish oil to draw back. They came 
out straight and were hard from the outside cutting 



130 THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 

edge to within }i inch above the washers. This is the 
best possible way to do a first-class job on work of 
this kind when produced in quantities. Of course, if 
only one or two are to be hardened the method 
explained elsewhere in the book is the best. 

Cyanide Hardening. — There are many different 
methods of hardening with cyanide potassium. Some- 
times, and with some classes of work, we heat the 
parts to be hardened in the forge to a bright red, 
sprinkle with dry, powdered cyanide and cool in cold 
salt water ; and for another class of work we use a 
crucible. The parts to be hardened are suspended by 
wires in the crucible of cyanide long enough to attain 
the same heat as cyanide, then dipped in cold water. 
Cyanide being very poisonous, care should be used, 
both in handling and in working over it. Do not 
breathe the fumes. 

A good method of hardening with cyanide is to put 
the parts to be hardened in a box used in bone harden- 
ing, put on cover and heat in furnace. When work 
is cherry red, sprinkle with cyanide and return the 
cover. In ten or fifteen minutes repeat the sprinkling, 
then dump the contents in cold water. This gives a 
good hard surface. 

In heating work in the forge for cyanide hardening 
it should not be scaled, as the cyanide will be coated on 
the outside scale, and when the piece is put in water the 
scale will drop off, leaving the work soft. It should be 
heated about the same as when hardening tool steel, 
and never hot enough to scale. 

About the most successful method of cyanide hard- 
ening developed by the writer is as follows : Put a 



CASEHARDENING AND COLORING 131 

good quantity of cyanide in one of the casehardening 
boxes, put the lid on the box, place in the furnace and 
heat to a bright cherry red. At the same time place the 
parts to be hardened in an open furnace and when at 
the same heat as the cyanide remove lid from the box 
and put the parts into the cyanide. Leave in about 
fifteen minutes, and then take box from the furnace. 
Take the parts out, one at a time, and cool off in a 
tank of cold kerosene oil. This hardens very deep and 
also toughens the steel. For crank shafts and such 
pieces this method cannot be equalled. 

Mottling and Coloring. — The writer has experi- 
mented in this line of work and has obtained some of 
the best results on record. A sample of the work is 
shown in the appendix. The following method not 
only colors but hardens deep enough for the class of 
pieces desired to be colored, such as wrenches, cranks, 
levers, bolts, etc. Pieces to be treated must be polished, 
and no grease of any kind should be on them. Use 
10 parts charred bone, 10 parts charred leather, 10 
parts wood charcoal, one part cyanide. All should be 
pulverized and thoroughly mixed together. If the 
colors are too gaudy, leave out the cyanide, and, if 
still less coloring is desired, leave out the charcoal. 

When packing for this class of work, use a piece of 
gas pipe, of the required size and length, and plug the 
end with asbestos cement. Leave the work in the fur- 
nace about four hours, heated just to a cherry red. If 
heated too hot no colors will appear. 

If much of this class of work is to be done, a fur- 
nace should be supplied for this alone, as a furnace 
heated for casehardening is too hot for coloring. 



132 THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 

When dumping this work, an air pipe connected 
with the water pipe in tank should come in at the bot- 
tom. Turn on the water and enough air to make the 
tank full of bubbles and quite lively. Then take the 
pipe from furnace and remove the asbestos plug. 
Hold the end of pipe close to the water before letting 
the work appear, as the work should not be exposed to 
air before striking the water. Dump in the center of 
the tank where the most air is (see D, Fig. 3) and 
then draw up the sieve and remove the work to a pail 
of boiling water, drawn from the boiler. Leave in the 
hot water for about five minutes and remove to a box 
of dry sawdust. After ten or fifteen minutes take out 
and remove all dust and apply oil or lacquer. 

How to Get the Charred Bone and Leather. — Fill 
your boxes with raw bone, put cover on and place in 
furnace, when the furnace is not too hot. For instance, 
if it is your custom to let your furnace fire out Satur- 
day night and relight Monday morning, then Saturday 
night would be a good time to char the bone, if you are 
using a hard coal furnace. If the bone turns a dark 
brown it is enough, the object being to remove all 
grease. If any grease remains in the mixture there 
will be no colors. 

The leather may be treated in the same way as the 
bone, and should be charred so that it can be pulver- 
ized quite line. Leather chars much easier than bone, 
and any old scrap belting, such as found in all large 
factories, can be used. 

Coloring with Cyanide. — Pieces of steel can be 
hardened and colored nicely by heating cyanide to 



CASEHARDENING AND COLORING 133 

cherry red in a crucible or box placed in the case- 
hardening furnace. Place parts to be hardened in the 
red hot cyanide and let remain twenty minutes, then 
pick out one at a time and drop them in the tank with 
air bubbling freely up from bottom. 

Coloring by Heat Alone. — Almost any color de- 
sired can be obtained on machine or tool steel by using 
sand in an iron box and heating over a forge. The 
sand must be quite hot and thoroughly mixed, so that 
the heat will be uniform. 

Place the pieces to be colored in the sand and watch 
closely, as the color comes quickly and changes from 
light straw to dark blue very rapidly. When the de- 
sired color is obtained dip in water just enough to 
check and let cool off in sawdust. Steel colored in 
this way is, of course, soft, and the coloring is of no 
use, except for its appearance. 



CHAPTER VI. 
BRAZING— GENERAL BLACKSMITHING. 

Brazing. — This class of work requires more care 
and attention than is generally paid to it. Some will 
bring to the brazing furnace a lot of rusty, greasy 
parts, driven together so tightly with a sledge hammer 
that the spelter cannot enter and when applied will 
simply spread around on the outside of the work. 
When the brazing is completed it may look like a good 
job to the inexperienced eye, but such pieces cannot 
be brazed satisfactorily and will show up bad after 
being in use a while. 

Parts to be brazed should be clean and free from 
scale and rust, with enough space in the joints to 
allow the spelter to sweat in between the pieces and 
hold the surfaces together. 

Brazing Furnace. — In Fig. 1 are two views of a 
good brazing furnace, made from firebrick. The 
frame of the furnace consists of a cast iron plate A, 
with four holes drilled and tapped for legs B made 
from gas pipe. There are braces C around the legs at 
the bottom, to prevent spreading. The walls of the 
furnace are built up of firebrick on top of the flat 
plate and another iron plate is used to cover the top. 
This latter plate can be removed at any time to allow 
the brazing of such pieces as would have to project 
through the top of the furnace. 

This furnace is shown equipped with three burners 
using gas for fuel. Where gas cannot be had it is 



BRAZINGS-GENERAL BLACKSMITHING 



135 



common to use gasoline, burners for which can be 
bought ready for use. An air blast must be provided 
for either type of burner. If gas is the fuel, burners 
can be made by using pipe fittings, as in Fig. 1. The 
front view shows two side burners made from V/\- 
inch pipe fittings, gas connections being by pipes F F 
and air connections by the rubber hose G G. By using 
the hose the burners can be changed to slightly differ- 



a=i 



J 



Jk H / D 



■9 



No.1 



F^ 



^ 




Fig. 1. Brazing Furnace. 



ent angles, as required, and by using a 45-degree T 
a burner like that in the side view at the back of the 
furnace can be made, which, in this position, blows 
down directly on the work. This makes a splendid 
arrangement for brazing most all ordinary pieces. A 
small *4 -inch gas pipe should be fitted on the inside 
of the T forming the burner and come within one inch 
of the end of the T. The construction is shown by 



136 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



the dotted lines. This is connected with the air sup- 
ply, the gas flowing around the outside of the %-inch 
pipe. 

For brazing pieces that cannot be put in the furnace, 
take one burner off and connect it up with rubber hose 
to both gas and air connections and in this way the 
blast can be played on parts that cannot be reached 
in the furnace. The disconnected burner is shown in 



Fi< 



Here A is the air tube, B the 1*4 -inch T and 




Fig. 2. 



C and D the hose connections. All valves should be 
arranged within easy reach of the man doing the braz- 
ing, as it is necessary to regulate them frequently. 

Spelter. — Boracic acid and fine brass chips make the 
best spelter. The pieces of brass should not be larger 
than common barrel salt. Soft brass wire of different 
sizes is also good, especially when the part to be 
brazed is difficult to get at with a spoon. The boracic 
acid and brass should be mixed, equal parts, in a very 
shallow pan. If pan is too deep, the brass, being heavy, 



BRAZING— GENERAL BLACKSMITHING 



137 



goes to the bottom, leaving the boracic acid at top and 
poor brazing is the result. Spelter is used dry, and 
applied with a spoon with a handle about 36 inches 
long ; and it is not applied until the parts to be brazed 
have become hot enough to melt it quickly. 

Directions for Brazing. — Fig. 3 shows a piece of 
steel tubing and a machine steel piece to be brazed to- 
gether. The hole in No. 1 should be % 4 -inch larger 
than the swaged end X of No. 2. It should be placed 









No.1 







No.2 



/ A 


,B 


I I 
I I 




I. 




1 1 




No. 3 I] 


„_^- — ■ " 



Fig. 3. Pieces to be Brazed. 



in position and pinned, as shown at A, No. 3. Before 
putting together, part X should be ground on an emery 
wheel to insure a clean, thorough job. 

Make a paste from boracic acid and water and put a 
good coating on part X before fitting the two pieces 
together. Then pin as stated and put a heavy coating 
around joint B. Prepare a number in this way 
and let the acid dry on, put into the furnace and when 
the piece is hot enough to melt the spelter apply 
quickly with a long handled spoon, turning the work 
with one hand. As soon as the spelter flows freely 



138 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



through the joint, remove the work from the furnace, 
as it injures the work to overheat it. If pieces are to 
be machined in any way, they should, on removing 
from the furnace, be put in lime, which leaves them 
softer than when left to cool off in the air. 





Fig. 4. Pieces to be Brazed. 



It is a wrong practice to keep cooling off the spoon 
in applying the spelter. Let the spoon remain hot and 
use it in guiding the course of the spelter around the 
part to be brazed. By cooling the spoon and dipping 
into the spelter while wet, the blast from the burner 
will blow the spelter from the spoon before reaching 
the joint or part to be brazed; but if the spoon is hot 
the spelter will adhere to it long enough to allow apply- 
ing to the joint. The part being brazed is so much 
hotter than the spoon that it melts the spelter, which 
flows from the spoon freely. The spelter will sweat 
into the joint three or four inches if the parts are clean 
and the heat is uniform. 

In Fig. 4 is a job of brazing where piece No. 1 is to 
be brazed into a hole in piece No. 2. Plenty of spelter 
should be put in the bottom of the hole at A. Then 
put the pieces together and pin (see dotted line at B). 



BRAZING— GENERAL BLACKSMITHING 



139 



A small vent hole C should be drilled in work of this 
class to prevent an explosion. 

Brazing Cast Iron. — Cast-iron pieces, such as 
broken parts of machinery, can be brazed just as easily 
as machine steel or wrought iron. The cast iron to be 
brazed should be free from all grease and coated with 
oxide of copper. Then pin the parts together and 
braze the same as machine steel parts are brazed. The 
oxide of copper decarbonizes the cast iron for a suffi- 
cient distance to allow the parts to unite, by the spelter 
filling the place formerly occupied by the carbon. Care 
should be taken in heating cast iron as it melts at a 
much lower heat than most metals. 





Fig. 5. Brazing a Band Saw. 



Brazing a Small Band Saw. — This seems an im- 
possible job to any one who has never seen the opera- 
tion. Make a double clamp for holding the ends of 
the saw, as shown in Fig. 5, the clamp being! held in 



140 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



the vise or in a swageblock by the part A. Then 
grind the ends of the saw tapering and bend the saw 
with the tapered ends overlapping, in position for 
brazing. Rest the saw on the bottom of the clamp and 
place a flat piece of steel D on top of the saw and 
tighten down with the thumbscrews E. Then put some 
silver solder between the ground ends of the saw and 
cover with boracic acid paste. Have a pair of tongs 
with jaws about one inch square that fit close together, 
heat the tongs to a bright red heat, and close down on 
saw at F. Hold the tongs in position for about 20 
seconds and remove, and the trick is done. 

If no silver solder is at hand, use a 10-cent piece. 
Flatten out quite thin and put a small piece between 
the ends of the saw. The coin contains copper enough 
to allow it to do the work just as well as silver solder. 




Fig. 6. Pipe Bending. 



Bending Gas Pipe for experimental purposes is an 
operation that troubles many blacksmiths. To do this 
without flattening the pipe at the bend, heat the pipe to 
a low red and put in the vise as in Fig. 6. Tighten 



BRAZING— GENERAL BLACKSMITHING 



141 



the vise just enough to prevent the pipe slipping out, 
putting the hottest part of the pipe at center of the 
vise jaws. Then with one man at each end of the 
pipe, bend it downward or upward, — never outward. 
A pipe can be bent to a perfect radius in this way in a 
few heats. 




Fig. 7. 



To Straighten Thin Sheet Steel after it has been 
warped by heating and working, some smiths heat it 
quite hot and put a heavy weight on it, expecting that 
when the piece is cold it will be flat and true. But not 
so. The hump will be there just the same. Fig. 7 
represents a piece of thin steel that has become bent 
or warped. Now if you heat the piece and hammer it 
on the high side A, you will make it worse. That side 
of the metal is longest already and hammering expands 
it still more. But by striking a few slight blows around 
the concave side, B, and expanding it, you will find it 
will come back straight. This must be done cold. 



142 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



The General Blacksmith and Horse Shoer.— 

While the contents of this book up to the present are 
of some interest to the horse shoer and general black- 
smith, what follows is of interest to them only. Some 
of the best blacksmiths have commenced in a general 
jobbing shop. After serving a couple of years in such 
a shop, an ambitious young man may secure employ- 
ment in a large shop, and in a short time become a 
very useful mechanic. 




Fig. 8. Plow Share. 



Repairing Plowshares. — Fig. 8 shows a plow- 
share. About twenty-five years ago plowshares were 
generally forged from wrought-iron plates, and when 
the wing wore quite narrow it was laid along the 
share with a piece of steel, and very often had to be 
pointed, staved up and made square on end. Cast-iron 
shares soon drove this class of work away from the 
general smith. Now a cast-iron share becomes useless 
as soon as the point wears rounding on the bottom and 
becomes thin like a lance. It no longer takes hold, 
and is thrown in the scrap heap. The writer has re- 



BRAZING— GENERAL BLACKSMITHING 143 

paired hundreds of cast-iron plow points which have 
reached this condition. Break off a piece from the end 
of the point and grind a good, flat, straight surface 
(see A, Fig. 8). Then forge a steel point the proper 
shape as shown at B. Now heat both pieces, using 
borax, watching the cast iron closely, but get the steel 
part as hot as possible. When the pieces are hot enough, 
place the share on a level plate, with a support at the 
end C, then press the steel piece up against the cast 
iron and they will unite. Do not hammer ; let them 
cool and then reheat point D, and dip in cold salt water 
to harden. It will be found impossible to break a piece 
joined in this way. 

Shoeing to Prevent Interfering. — It used to be 
the custom among a great many smiths, in order to 
stop or cure a horse from interfering, to pare the hoof 
nearly all away at the inside of the foot, and bend the 
inside of the bar of shoe around under the heel. This 
makes matters worse, as an interfering horse always 
wears off the inside of his hoof more than the outside ; 
and again, if you notice a horse that does not interfere 
or strike, you will observe his hoof is worn down on 
the outside more than the inside. 

By treating the horse that interferes so he will throw 
the joint out he will never strike. This is done by 
building up the inside. Do not pare it. Pare the out- 
side and have the inside bar of shoe straight and 
longer than the outside ; also have the inside heel 
caulk run lengthwise instead of sidewise, as it usually 
does, and it should be. at least % inch longer than the 
outside one, and in some cases }i inch longer. 



144 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



Horseshoe Vise. — Fig. 9 shows a home-made 
vise for holding horseshoes while sharpening, or shap- 
ing, which is a very useful tool. It is quite a task to 
sharpen a toe caulk on the anvil. It slips off and the 




.+ — t -. 



<:::;_-t 



-■' — •+- •■ 



i i 1 1 

1-4- -I— I 




SHOE 



Fig. 9. Vise for Horse Shoes. 



smith knocks a chunk off the anvil edge. Anvils used 
in this way look like a piece of cast-iron scrap fastened 
to a block. This vise can be made from cast iron, all 
but the tool steel jaw A and the machine steel lever B. 
The vise is held by spiking a piece of hard wood plank 
to the floor and fastening a plate of machine steel with 



BRAZING— GENERAL BLACKSMITHING 



145 



a square hole in its center on top of the plank, into 
which the square shank C fits. After welding the toe 
caulk on a shoe, place shoe between jaws of vise and 
put foot on lever B and press down. This will bring 
the jaw against the shoe. Then draw the toe to the 
desired thinness. Jaw A can be so shaped as to give 
the caulk the required forward incline. 

Shoeing for Contracted Feet. — Contracted feet 
are very painful to the horse and a source of annoyance 




m 



U 



A B 



_Z 



~ r ~TT 



No.2 



Fig. 10. 



to the owner, but the shoer can do a great deal to les- 
sen this trouble. Do not pare the hoof too much, and 
the shoe should not be fitted to the foot by burning. 
This is a horrible practice among shoers. In shaping 
the shoe get it level on top. Have the bar higher at 
the inside than at outside. The bar of shoe should 
taper about % inch from inside to outside, A to B, 
Fig. 10, which gives a side and back view of the shoe. 
This shoe should be made from tool steel and hardened 
on top of bar from C to D, or about one third of length 
of bar. This prevents the hoof from growing into the 



146 



THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 



shoe, as it very often does. It is not a good idea to 
remove a shoe too often ; it should be left on for at 
least two months. By shaping the shoe, and hardening, 
as just described, the hoof will tend to spread out 
wider and the trouble is soon overcome. 




^^ 



^y 



"X. 



^^ 



i i 
i i 



"l r 

I I 



Fig. 11. Clinching Pinchers. 



A foot which is contracted is very tender, as every 
horseman knows, and the horse can stand very little 
hammering or pounding on the hoof when clinching 
the nails. Some shoers are cruel enough to pound the 
animal in the ribs with the hammer for flinching under 
the painful operation of hammering the nails to place in 
the old fashioned way. Fig. 11 shows a pair of clinch- 
ing pinchers that any smith can make for this purpose. 
They can be made from soft machine steel, except the 
part with teeth A. The pinchers are shown closed 
in the sketch. By opening and placing jaw B 
under the nail head and closing down on the pinchers. 



BRAZING— GENERAL BLACKSMITHING 147 

the teeth A on the jaw will do the work nicely and 
scarcely any hammering is necessary, thus saving the 
shoer any unnecessary trouble and the horse a deal of 
suffering. 

ADVICE TO FOREMEN. 

When hiring a man, tell him what you expect of 
him. If he does not come up to the standard, after re- 
peated trials, let him go. Do* not abuse him. 

Have as little as possible to say to your men, and 
that on business only. 

Do not take a piece of work to a smith and tell him 
how it should be done. Perhaps he knows more about 
it than you do ; but if you see that he does not under- 
stand it, then a little advice is all right. 

Keep a tidy shop by being tidy yourself. 

Don't sit down yourself and issue orders for the men 
to stand. 

If you promise a man an increase of wages, keep 
your promise, for if he finds you unreliable he will 
have no respect for you. 

If you find a man is worthy, raise his wages. Don't 
wait for him to ask for an increase, as some men 
would rather quit than ask for an increase of wages. 

Don't come in late yourself and abuse your men for 
being late once in a while. 

Don't abuse a man for not doing enough work if 
you see he is killing time ; let him go and put another 
in his place. 

A man who is always watching his foreman is a 
good man to let go. 



148 THE BLACKSMITH'S GUIDE 

Don't hire a man who smokes cigarettes, as there 
are plenty of good men who do not smoke them. 

If conditions at home or up town are not pleasant, 
don't lay out your spite on the men — they are not to 
blame. 

Don't lay off a man who has a family to support 
and keep one who is inferior and has no one depending 
on him, and who perhaps wastes his money foolishly. 

A foremanship earned by hard work and strict at- 
tention to business lasts longer and is better than one 
stolen by underhanded methods. I have worked my 
wav up to every good position I have held. 

J. F. Sallows. 



APPENDIX 



Decimal Equivalents. 

4ths, 8ths, 16ths, 32nds, and 64ths of an 
inch. 



Decimal 


16 


32 


64 


Decimal 


16 


32 


64 


.015625 






1 


515625 






33 


.03125 




1 




53125 




17 




.046875 






q 

o 


546875 






35 


.0625 


1 






5625 


9 






.078125 






5 


578125 






37 


.09375 




3 




.59375 




19 




. 109375 






7 


609375 






39 


.125 


2 


- 




.625 


10 






. 140625 






9 


. 640625 






41 


. 15625 




5 




.65625 




21 




.171875 






11 


.671875 






43 


.1875 


3 






6875 


11 






.203125 






13 


703125 






45 


.21875 




7 




71875 




23 




.234375 






15 


734375 






47 


.25 


4 






.75 


12 






. 265625 






17 


765625 






49 


.28125 




9 




78125 




25 




. 296875 






19 


796875 






51 


3125 


5 






8125 


13 






.328125 






21 


.828125 






53 


34375 




11 




. 84375 




27 




.359375 






23 


859375 






55 


.375 


6 






.875 


14 






. 390625 






25 


890625 






57 


. 40625 




13 




90625 




29 




.421875 






27 


921875 






59 


.4375 


7 






9375 


15 






453125 






29 


953125 






61 


. 46875 




15 




96875 




31 




484375 






31 


. 984375 






63 


.5 


8 
















Fig. 1 . Heat Chart. Fig. 2. Temper Chart. 

See Chapter III for Explanation of Charts and Methods of Using Them. 




H3 



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T3 
O 



<u a, 

Jo 

o _ 



o -13 

0) D 
BO S 

.5 "O 

g bo 

-c •£ 

y u 



3 

T3 

O 



a; 




i 






m 



Ui 



Fl?. 2. Cross Section. 



Common Brick 




fz ± Ph ± 



■~ 



n 



>* 



DC 



^r 1 



* & 



# 



DD 






j@ii- T #- 



T > r 



Fl(j. 3. Lonffitudinnl Section. 



WORKING DRAWINGS 

OF 

COAL BURNING 
CASEHARDENING FURNACE 

(For Names of Numbered Parts see Chapter V.) 




Fig. 4. Sectional Plan. 



INDEX 



Advice to foremen 147 

Air hardening, device for 110 

Angle, making a double 28 

Annealing tool steel 113 

high-speed steel 117 

Anvil block 4 

Bath for hardening tools 83 

Bending forks 13 

Bending gas pipe 140 

Bevel set, use of 14, 44 

Boring tool S3 

to lengthen 55 

Box for packing pieces for 

casehardening 120 

for pack hardening 126 

Brass turning tool 62 

Brazing 134 

burner for ,136 

cast iron 139 

directions for 137 

furnace 134 

small band saw 139 

spelter for.. 136 

Broaches, hardening 95 

Burner for brazing 136 

Bushings, hardening 101 

Butt weld 33 

Cape chisels 46 

Casehardening 118 

directions for 121 

furnace 119 

packing for 120 

tank for 122 

Centering tools 58 

Charcoal fire 73 

Charred bone and leather, to 

obtain 132 

Chisels: 

cape 46 

cold 44 

diamond point 48 

grooving 46 

hardening 79 



Chisels: 

round-nose 47 

Cleft weld 33 

Cold chisels 46 

hardening 79 

Color charts 76, 152 

Coloring steel 131 

with cyanide 132 

by heat alone 133 

Crankshaft, making a 26 

Cutters, see milling cutters. 

Cutting off steel 7-9 

high-speed steel 108 

cutting-off tool, making. . 49 
Cyanide, hardening with. . 112-130 

coloring with 132 

Diamond point chisel 48 

Diamond point tools 59 

Dies, hardening 92-94 

to make without welding.. 63 
Dipping tools in hardening. . . 

80-82-86 

Drip pan 87 

Drawing temper, see temper- 
ing. 

Dutchmen, use of 39 

Finishing tools 58 

Flux for welding 29 

Forges, arrangement of 5 

see furnaces. 

Forging 8 

bending fork 13 

blacksmith's tongs 10 

cape chisels 46 

cold chisels 44 

crankshaft 26 

double angle 28 

grooving chisels, etc 46 

heading tool 13 

high-speed steel 109 

key-puller 17 

lathe and planer tools: 

boring tools 52 



156 



INDEX 



Forging: 

lathe and planer tools: 

brass turning tool 62 

centering tools 58 

cutting-off tools 49 

diamond-point tool 59 

finishing tools 58 

roughing tools 56 

round-nose tool 62 

side tool 51 

threading tools 55 

planer bolts 16 

rings or dies without weld- 
ing 63 

rock drills 62 

self-hardening steel 109 

socket wrench. 21 

spanner wrench 23 

square corner on heavy 

stock 26 

turnbuckle or swivel 23 

wrenches 19 

Furnaces: 

brazing 134 

casehardening 118 

for high-speed steel 113 

for tools 74 

Grooving chisels 46 

Hammer head, hardening 102 

Hardening 66 

broaches 95 

center punches 81 

cold chisels 79 

drill jig bushings 101 

formed cutters 85 

general directions for.... 105 

hammer head 102 

high-speed steel Ill 

large rolls. . . . , 99 

lathe and planer tools. ... 81 

milling cutters 83 

high-speed steel 112 

punches and dies. ... 81-92-94 

reamers 88 

shear blades 97 

taps 91 

thin cutters 87-128 

with cyanide 112-130 

% 



Heading tool 13 

Heating: 

care in 43 

high-speed steel Ill 

method of 8 

tool steel 67 

Heat chart 152 

High-speed steel 107 

annealing 117 

cutting off 107 

forging 109 

hardening 110 

long blades 115 

milling cutters 112 

with cyanide 112 

to distinguish 107 

Horseshoeing 142-143-145 

Horseshoe vise 144 

Jimmie-bar 17 

Key puller 17 

Lathe tools, see tools. 

Lap weld 33 

Machine forging 1 

Mottling, see coloring. 

Micro-photographs 65 

Milling cutters: 

hardening 83-85-87-128 

high-speed steel 112 

Oven, home made 74 

Open-end wrench 19 

Pack hardening 125 

boxes for 126 

long pieces 89 

testing work 127 

thin cutters 128 

reamers 89 

Patterns for tools 43 

Planer bolts 16 

Planer tools, see tools. 

Plow shares, repairing 142 

Pinchers for clinching horse 

nails 146 

Punches, hardening 81-92 

Pipe, welding ends in 137 

bending 140 

Reading drawings 1 

Reamers, hardening 88 

Ring, welding a 34 



INDEX 



157 



Ring: 

to make without welding. . 63 

Rock drill 62 

Rolls, hardening 99 

Round-nose tool 62 

Roughing tool 56 

Round-nose chisel 46 

Scarf weld 30 

Screw driver 48 

Self -hardening steel, treatment 

of 109 

Shear-blades, hardening 97 

high-speed steel 115 

Sheet steel, straightening 141 

Shoeing to prevent interfer- 
ing 143 

for contracted feet 145 

Shrinkage and expansion 102 

Side tools 51 

Spanner wrench 23 

Spelter 136 

Springs, tempering 100 

Socket wrench 31 

Straightening sheet steel 141 

Swivel, directions for making. . 23 
System for handling tool 

work 40 

Taps, hardening 91 

Tempering 70-78 

see hardening. 

cold chisels 80 

fine steel points 102 



Tempering: 

punches and dies 94 

springs 100 

Temper chart 76-152 

Threading tools 55 

Tools : 

boring 52 

brass turning 62 

centering 58 

finishing 58 

from old files 48 

of machine steel 124 

hardening 79-81 

roughing 56 

round-nose 62 

side 51 

threading 55 

Turnbuckles 23 

Vise for horseshoers 144 

Welding: 

butt weld 33 

cleft weld 33 

directions for 29 

flux for 29 

jump weld 33 

lap weld 33 

ring 34 

scarf weld 30 

solid ends in pipe 37 

to avoid two heats for.... 31 
use of "dutchmen" in.... 39 

Working drawings 1 



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